PECO this week took the first steps in fulfilling the ambitious Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards requirements enacted in 2004, through a petition filed with the Public Utility Commission.

The company's proposal could result in the same benefits to the environment as planting more than 33 million trees, not driving about 428 million miles, or removing about 28,500 cars from the road.

The AEPS legislation requires that, by 2011, 3.5 percent of the energy consumed by PECO customers is provided through renewable resources – such as wind, methane gas and biomass. With a required 1/2 percent annual increase in its renewable requirement, by 2020 PECO must ensure that renewable resources make up a total of 8 percent of the energy consumed by customers.

PECO plans to meet its initial requirements now by purchasing the equivalent of 240 megawatts (450,000 megawatt hours / year) of alternative energy credits for five years. These credits are sold by renewable energy generators on a one to one basis each time one megawatt hour of renewable energy is produced. If approved by the PUC, PECO would be the first utility in the state to take action, continuing to demonstrate the company's environmental leadership.

"By purchasing the credits now, and banking them to meet future requirements, we can take advantage of current market prices," said Denis O'Brien, president of PECO. It is estimated that the total impact of this requirement on a customer's monthly energy bill beginning in 2011 would be less than one percent. "Acting now also helps increase the demand for renewable energy resources and reduces our state's dependency on fossil fuels," he concluded.

By 2020, the company estimates that as much as 3.3 million megawatt hours (or 1512 megawatts) of renewable resources could be needed to meet this requirement. One megawatt is enough energy to power approximately 800 - 1,000 homes.

NewsClip: PECO Moves to Boost Alternative Energy

3/23/2007