The Grassroots are Greener:
A Community-Based Approach to Marketing Green Power
Part V: Quantifying the Results
All told, there are likely to be approximately 50 MW of wind coming on-line to help meet Colorado's electricity demand by the end of 1999 (see Table 1 on page 12). Of this total, a little over 14 MW result from the existing subscriptions of PSCo retail customers, another 5-7 MW come from commitments that are anticipated during the remainder of 1999, 5 MW is associated with other utilities in the state, and 25 MW will be installed by PSCo as a result of regulatory agreements. This 50-MW commitment to wind represents a $50- million investment that, over the life of the project, will reduce carbon emissions in Colorado by 3-4 million tons, nitrous oxide by 12,000 tons, and sulfur dioxide by 4,500 tons.22
The green pricing totals for PSCo break down as follows: the residential sector accounts for a little over 60% of the total; wholesale utilities take 20-25%; small businesses, 10%; large commercial customers, 5%; and municipalities, 3%. Although the commercial customers have a smaller commitment in annual terms, they have signed three-year contracts as opposed to the one-year terms of residential customers. The exact breakdown for PSCo's green pricing effort — in MW, MWh, and dollar terms — is shown in Table 2.
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Table 2: PSCo Windsource Program: Annual Commitments by Customer Class as of May 1999 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class | Capacity (MW) | Energy (Mwh/yr) | Customer Premium ($/yr) | % of Total |
| Residential | 11.6 | 26,420 | $660,504 | 61 |
| Small Business | 1.6 | 3,621 | $90,535 | 8 |
| Municipalities | 0.8 | 1,777 | $44,413 | 4 |
| Large Commercial | 1.0 | 2,300 | $57,509 | 5 |
| Other Utilities* | 4.0 | 9,110 | $227,760 | 21 |
| Total | 19.0 | 43,228 | $1,080,721 | 100 |
| *Colorado Springs Utilities and Holy Cross Electric Association (wholesale customers of PSCo). | ||||
Finally, the community-based marketing campaign appears to have had a significant impact on customer response, particularly in light of the lack of aggressive marketing by PSCo. The LAW Fund estimates that Boulder County accounts for only about 5% of PSCo's total customer base. In contrast, almost 40% of total customer subscriptions are from Boulder County, where most of the marketing effort was concentrated. The trend is even more pronounced in the medium-sized and small-business sector, with Boulder County accounting for half of the aggregated capacity and energy. This is likely due to the impact of the street team strategy and the Grassroots Campaign's general focus on smaller businesses. Table 3 summarizes the relative contribution of Boulder County, by customer class, compared with the remainder of PSCo's service territory.
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Table 3: PSCo Windsource Program: Impact of Grassroots Approach on Retail Demand as of May 1999 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Purchases | Capacity (MW) | Energy (Mwh/yr) | Customer Premium ($/yr) | |
| Residential | ||||
| All | 11.6 | 26,420 | $660,504 | |
| Boulder County | 4.1 | 9,338 | $233,454 | |
| Non-Residential | ||||
| All | 2.6 | 5,922 | $148,044 | |
| Boulder County | 1.4 | 3,189 | $79,716 | |
| Municipal | ||||
| All | 0.8 | 1,777 | $44,413 | |
| Boulder County | 0.2 | 364 | $9,110 | |
| Total Retail | 15.0 | 34,119 | $852,961 | |
Most of the programs in Colorado have more subscribers than they have wind power currently available, and they continue to receive both residential and business customer sign-ups. Customers — especially businesses, which essentially receive free PR from the moment they subscribe — do not seem bothered by the fact that wind power is not immediately available and that they will not be billed for it until more turbines are erected. Most important, from the advocates' perspective, PSCo has committed to erecting as many wind turbines as it takes to meet customer demand.
In addition to the direct results of the green marketing effort, PSCo agreed, in the context of its most recent IRP case,23 to include in its regulated rate structure an additional 25 MW of wind.24 Although a number of factors influenced this decision, the stronger-than-expected customer response to the Windsource program was one clear reason identified by PSCo in support of this regulatory commitment.25 This leads the LAW Fund to conclude that the Colorado experience provides evidence that green marketing can help drive public policy support for renewable energy. The LAW Fund and PSCo have agreed to use this utility commitment to demonstrate to Windsource customers that their choice of energy source is also important in terms of influencing utility resource decisions.26
Perhaps the most dramatic result of the grassroots marketing activities has been the continuing media coverage. The unexpected early market success of wind power, especially with the business community, has spurred scores of articles in newspapers throughout the region. The Denver Post has run three editorials in support of wind power. The local television news has covered all major events, such as when the first wind turbine in Colorado was erected. Major stories also have appeared in local weeklies and alternative papers.
And in April 1999, the LAW Fund's community-based green marketing program won a national award from the President's Council on Sustainable Development and from Renew America for programs that demonstrate leadership in integrating environmental, economic, and community sustainability.
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