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By Glenn Campbell
Northeast Ohioans who receive their electricity through FirstEnergy
(Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company or Ohio Edison) now have the chance
to support the development of electricity from renewable sources when they
pay their monthly electric bill.
FirstEnergy customers can now sign up for the company's new "Green
Resource Program" and agree to pay a small premium in order
to support the purchase each month of a minimum of 200 kilowatt
hours (kWh) of electricity generated from renewable sources or
other alternatives to fossil fuels and nuclear power.
Customers can join the program at a minimum cost of $1 per month
(which supports 200 kW of renewable/alternative electricity) up
to a maximum cost of $25 per month (which supports 5,000 kWh).
The average residential customer uses 850 kWh of electricity per
month, so supporing alternative electricity at that entire level
of use would add $5 to the typical customer's regular monthly bill.
How the program works
In an agreement with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and
the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC), FirstEnergy
has acquired the right to purchase "renewable energy certificates" (RECs)
and sell them to its customers in smaller blocks.
One REC is generated when an alternative energy producer generates
1 megawatt hour of electricity onto the electricity market. The
RECs in the program will come from at least one of the following
sources, according to FirstEnergy:
- Wind
- Solar photovoltaic
- Biomass co-firing of agricultural crops and all-energy crops
- Hydro (as certified by the Low Impact Hydro Institute)
- Incremental improvements in large-scale hydro
- Waste coal
- Coal mine methane
- Landfill gas
- Biogas digesters
- Biomass co-firing of all woody waste (including mill residue
but excluding painted or treated lumber).
FirstEnergy launched the program in December after similar REC-based
programs were introduced earlier in 2007 by other utility companies
in other parts of Ohio. The program is supported by the OCC and
has been publicized by Green Energy Ohio.
Why and how to join
All FirstEnergy customers who are concerned about climate change
and the other harmful effects of fossil fuel-based electricity
should consider signing up for this program to help drive and
sustain a market for renewables and other alternative energy
sources. Because some alternative power sources currently have
higher up-front costs than coal or natural gas, the creation
and sale of RECs will help make these alternative sources more
competitive in the marketplace---and ultimately more viable.
While it is true that REC-based programs like this are not as
effective as a national or statewide renewable portfolio standard
would be at stimulating the market for renewables, the two approaches
are certainly not mutually exclusive. As we work for a renewable
portfolio standard, let's not pass up this positive opportunity
from the new FirstEnergy program by letting the "more good" be
the enemy of the good. The urgency of climate change dictates that
we all do all that we can as quickly as we can to shift from fossil
fuels to renewables. So let your electric bill start to be part
of the solution (or at least a bit less of the problem) for a change.
You can learn more about and sign up for FirstEnergy's Green Resource
Program by visiting www.firstenergycorp.com/greenresourceprogram or by calling 1-800-589-3101.
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The City of Cleveland's 
Do you know of a local environmental issue in need
of attention? Do you have inside information on what's
going on in your city or township? With over 5,000
members in Northeast Ohio we count on you to be the
Club's eyes and ears of the region. While the Federal
government and large corporations continue to wreak
havoc on our environment, it is more important than
ever before to act as watchdogs in our own backyards.
For those new to
calling state or federal representatives, it's easier and
less confrontational than it sounds. You will never
speak directly with your rep or senator - an aide
will answer the phone, take brief notes plus your name and city (sometimes), and that's it.