Consumers will soon be able to select their own power company. To ensure that this freedom lowers the total social cost of electricity, customers need to know how their power is generated, and they need assurance that power sold as "green" really is so. The author argues that comprehensible, accessible information is essential for a properly functioning retail power market. He then discusses how to define green, the roles of new and existing power projects, the distinction between regulated green marketing programs and unregulated green power products, and the institutional arrangements for certifying green power. The paper concludes with seven recommended actions and principles for green power standards.

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Edward Holt is the author of the Green Pricing Newsletter, a clearinghouse of information about green pricing programs. He also heads Ed Holt & Associates, which provides energy consulting. He has served as a principal with the Regulatory Assistance Project and in various mangerial positions with Seattle City Light, a municipal utility. Mr. Holt can be reached at RR 2, Box 53 in lovely Harpswell, ME 04079-9604; (207) 798-4588; edholt@igc.apc.org.

Abstract A Message from the REPP Article