In this first issue of REPP's Research Report series, Ed Holt presents his findings on business participation in the Traverse City Light & Power's green pricing program in Traverse City, Michigan. Mr. Holt concludes from his interviews that many businesses would be willing to pay more to purchase green power in order to better the environment. Tapping into the preference of these businesses for clean power could greatly benefit the renewable energy industry: because business customers use more energy than residential customers, even relatively few participants can have a large impact on renewables development. Indeed, small businesses may be an ideal first market for green power; not only might they opt to purchase green for personal reasons, as do residential customers, but they can also market their firms as environmentally friendly. However, to broaden the appeal of green power programs from small businesses to larger customers, utilities and electricity suppliers will need to develop a range of green power products that appeal to different market segments.

Edward Holt heads Ed Holt & Associates, an energy consulting service. He is the author of the Green Power Newsletter, a clearinghouse of information about green pricing and green power programs, and Disclosure and Certification: Truth and Labeling for Electric Power (REPP Issue Brief No. 5, January 1997). He has served as a principal with the Regulatory Assistance Project and in various positions with Seattle City Light, a municipal utility. Mr. Holt can be contacted at RR 2, Box 53, South Harpswell, ME 04079-9604; (207) 798-4588; or at edholt@igc.apc.org.

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