What Are My Choices for Electricity?
In Deerfield, there are four choices for electricity supplied to your home through the ComEd grid:
- Do nothing and receive power from ComEd using
electricity sources negotiated for ComEd. - Switch to an alternative supplier, also known as a
Retail Electric Supplier. Some of these suppliers
provide 100% renewable or green electricity. - Use an unregulated supplier chosen by a local
government. This is called “municipal aggregation”
and the power can be either green or similar to the
power normally supplied by ComEd. - Use a special ComEd power pricing plan called Hourly Pricing.
This guide focuses on alternative electricity suppliers that
provide 100% green or renewable energy. (Number 2 above.)
What is it?
ComEd electricity customers are able to buy green electric power delivered through the ComEd system. Green energy (also called renewable energy or clean energy) is electrical energy that is generated without using fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas. Sources of green electrical energy include wind energy and solar energy. Green power is an optional source of electricity offered by alternative competitive suppliers that allow customers to consume clean energy. Producing green energy does not emit greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.
How Does it Work?
When a customer chooses green energy the supplier is responsible for providing power that is added to the power grid in an amount equivalent to the customer’s electricity use. This power is delivered to the customer by ComEd and the customer still receives a bill from ComEd. By purchasing green power it does not mean that the actual electricity customers consume is coming from a renewable energy source. Instead, it means that the chosen supplier is purchasing “renewable electricity credits” (RECs) on the customer’s behalf. A REC represents the benefit of the production of one megawatt hour of green energy. These RECs are in effect bundled with the delivered electricity.
For example, if a customer purchases 1,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) a month
of green power, that customer could claim the environmental benefits of adding 1,000 kwh of “green” electricity to the power grid.
How to Do It?
To learn more about and how to sign up for green energy providers,
visit the Consumers Utility Board web site. This web site also includes a list of green energy providers.
Some green energy providers are certified by an organization called Green-e. Green-e certified green energy products meet stringent environmental and consumer protection standards. To learn more about Green-e and see a
list of certified providers visit their web site.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a lot of information
for consumers considering the purchase of green power.
For general information on alternative electricity providers see the
Illinois Commerce Commission web site, Plug In Illinois.