Californian consumers will soon be able to decide on how much of their electric consumption will originate from renewable resources, following Pacific Gas and Electric Company's (PG&E) receiving approval for such plans from the state regulators.
Under the plans, customer will be able to opt-into a program where they could choose to receive up to 100 per cent of their electricity from solar. Initial estimates from PG&E stand at two-three cents per KwH for the cost premium that will be affixed to the bills of those customers opting in.
Chris Johns, president of PG&E, said, Our green option is all about giving customers the power to choose and about bringing the benefits of solar to our communities. Our customers already enjoy some of the cleanest power in the United States, but we want to help them do even more to support clean energy and the green economy. Our green option will let them buy into a pool of clean solar energy, locally produced in our service area, to meet all of their electricity needs.
Under the program, PG&E will buy energy for the program from newly developed small and mid-sized solar projects located within its service area. Participating residential and commercial customers can choose to cover either 50 or 100 percent of their energy use. They will pay the incremental cost of the new solar energy they consume, as well as related program costs. PG&E said that it expected to cost to fall over time as the relative price of solar also fell.
PG&E said that it planned to start enrolling customers into the plan by the fourth quarter of 2015.
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