Thanks to our public power utility OPPD for their recent policy change.
They have changed their summer pricing policy to eliminate the incentive to waste electricity. Previously, pricing was tiered and homeowners paid LESS per Kwh the more electricity they used. OPPD has eliminated this benefit to encourage conservation.
It has a long way to go, because it continues building new coal fired plants and being worse, even against other utilities, in the percentage of renewable energy sources it funds and uses.
But I have heard they are considering hiring someone to be an advocate for energy conservation in Omaha and that is another good start. Hopefully they will hire a team to perform home energy audits in Omaha and this will save the area from needing to build more polluting plants (reference Grand Island plant, not under OPPD, that produces 4 times the mercury allowable under federal standards).
They have changed their summer pricing policy to eliminate the incentive to waste electricity. Previously, pricing was tiered and homeowners paid LESS per Kwh the more electricity they used. OPPD has eliminated this benefit to encourage conservation.
It has a long way to go, because it continues building new coal fired plants and being worse, even against other utilities, in the percentage of renewable energy sources it funds and uses.
But I have heard they are considering hiring someone to be an advocate for energy conservation in Omaha and that is another good start. Hopefully they will hire a team to perform home energy audits in Omaha and this will save the area from needing to build more polluting plants (reference Grand Island plant, not under OPPD, that produces 4 times the mercury allowable under federal standards).
4 comments:
Do you have a green energy option on your bill?
We don't, but they do print a conservation pamphlet with each bill.
Until then, I get Native Energy is the next best thing...
OPPD does offer the ability to be a green partner. Sign up for a minimum of one year, for between $4.50 to $30.00 extra per month.
I used this green option for one year, early on in my time in Omaha. But was discouraged since 1) it was more expensive (20% more than my regular bill), 2) OPPD has so few green projects that I was wondering what I was supporting, and 3) I talked to both a local environmentalist and an OPPD employee who both told me it was a waste of money.
Your Native Energy seems much more hopeful.
Daaaaang. Ok, please don't tell me about any Native Energy scandals for a few months, k?
I don't see any significant changes coming without public policy action (shift in tax incentives, subsidies, cap-and-trade, tax). Maybe I'm just not convinced the inevitable drop in solar and wind technology prices will come quick enough on its own. Big wind farms make 90% of the headlines, but much less of actual electricity wattage.
Doing some math...
After sales tax and monthly service charge, my $24 summer bill figured to $0.12 / KWH (or $0.077 "base price").
My $61 winter bill I just got figured to just $0.08 / KWH (or $0.066 base price).
I guess a fixed monthly charge will do that to prices. Is that what you mean, or did the actual base price of KWH over a certain amount go up?
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