Where Does My Money Go?
By choosing to participate in the Blue Sky program, Rocky Mountain Power customers have an opportunity to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, support renewable energy generation from newly developed facilities in the western United States and help increase the demand for renewable energy resources.
Funds received from Blue Sky customers are used to purchase renewable energy certificates from regional renewable energy facilities equal to their Blue Sky purchase and cover the cost of the program – including customer education, outreach efforts and enrollment processing – and can also help create funding awards to help boost smaller-community-based renewable energy projects.
Why does it cost more?
Blue Sky purchases are in addition to the cost-effective renewable energy resources included in Rocky Mountain Power’s diverse generation portfolio.
Rocky Mountain Power makes every effort to keep costs as low as possible for all our customers. Planning for our customers needs is a long-term process. While we continue to add more renewable power to our overall energy mix, customers who want to support 100 percent renewable energy have the option to pay a little more to spur even more renewable energy development and reduce their carbon footprint.
The Blue Sky Block program costs $1.95 per 100-kwh block, which reflects the difference between the cost of renewable energy above current market prices for traditional forms of electricity and the cost of offering the program (customer education and administration). The program costs more because customers are supporting more renewable energy on the system above and beyond what Rocky MountainPower is already generating and purchasing for all customers.
As a regulated electric utility Rocky Mountain Power is required to follow rules which are set by the state public utility commissions. Regulations require Rocky Mountain Power to allocate the costs associated with the program to customers who choose to participate. Rocky Mountain Power is not allowed to make a profit and does not include the costs associated with the Blue Sky program in the ratemaking process.
Blue Sky customers not only support the development of renewable energy resources throughout the region, but also give small community-based renewable energy projects a needed boost to help them get off the ground. Blue Sky funds are awarded to projects from funds remaining after purchasing renewable energy certificates equal to customer purchases and covering program costs. These funds can vary depending on a number of market factors.
How the price is determined
The price of Blue Sky is established based on anticipated costs of renewable energy credits, funding of community-based renewable energy projects and program costs for customer education and administration. When making renewable energy purchases on behalf of Blue Sky customers our preference is to support generation in the states where we serve customers followed by the region (i.e., Pacific Northwest or Rocky Mountains) and then the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC).
The company negotiates renewable energy certificate purchases to fulfill the needs of Blue Sky Block option customers across our system and looks to the market to secure renewable energy credits. Currently none of the renewable energy certificates are purchased from company owned projects. We also make it standard practice to balance green power purchases with customer purchases on an annual basis.
How much of Blue Sky dollars go to purchase renewable energy credits and support renewable energy depends on the market costs.
In 2007 customer funds where used as follows. As market conditions change so will these percentages.
The Blue Sky program is Green-e Energy Certified, which means the renewable energy supported meets the rigorous national environmental and consumer-protection standards established by the nonprofit Center for Resource Solutions. More information on Green-e Energy Certification.
Rocky Mountain Power is committed to offering a high quality renewable energy program that considers and aims to ensure all customers are aware of the Blue Sky option, how it works and how they can participate. All funds are directed to help grow the renewable energy market – partnering with our customers to make even more renewable energy happen.
