Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - April 18, 2002
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Locke encourages citizens to sign up for ‘green options’ programs offered by electric utilities

SEATTLE – Gov. Gary Locke today joined environmental groups and local electric utilities in downtown Seattle to raise awareness of new programs to provide clean and renewable power to citizens who request it.

Walking among the pre-lunch-hour passersby at Westlake Park, Locke handed out leaflets and signed up customers for the “green options” offered by Seattle City Light, Puget Sound Energy, Snohomish Public Utility District and Tacoma Power.

Under the green options programs, customers of Washington electric utilities can choose to purchase a portion of their electricity from clean and renewable sources such as wind, solar, biomass and ocean power. Customers pay as little as $3 or $4 a month in addition to their standard monthly bill to receive 200 kilowatts of power from these alternative energy sources.

“These are great programs,” Locke said. “I hope all Washington citizens and businesses will consider purchasing a portion of their electricity from green energy sources.”

Locke signed legislation last year requiring utilities to provide green power to all customers who request it. The programs went into effect Jan. 1.

Although the law does not apply to utilities with fewer than 25,000 customers, most smaller utilities are offering green options through the Bonneville Environmental Foundation of Portland.

Currently, Washington citizens get most of their power from a mix of hydropower, natural gas, coal and nuclear power. In recent years, natural gas plants have comprised more than 95 percent of new energy facilities in the state.

By relying more on clean and renewable energy, Locke said, the region can reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and diversify its energy base to better respond to events such as the drought and market volatility that contributed to last year’s energy crisis. It also will promote Washington’s growing clean energy industries.

“For every 100 people that sign up for this program, we get the same environmental benefits as from planting 70 acres of trees,” Locke said. “We diversify our energy base and improve our energy security. We help rural areas in Washington where many of our clean energy facilities are located. And we promote an increasingly important part of our region’s economy – the clean energy industries.”

A study commissioned last year by the state Office of Trade and Economic Development, the City of Seattle and others found that the clean energy and energy efficiency industries have the potential to create 32,000 jobs and bring $6.4 billion annually to the region in the next two decades.

Already, Washington is home to one of the nation’s largest wind energy projects, the Stateline Wind Project near Walla Walla. This month, the Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas announced it will build a manufacturing facility in Portland, creating 1,000 new jobs in the Portland-Vancouver area.

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Related Links:
- Tacoma Power
- Seattle City Light
- Puget Sound Energy
- Snohomish Public Utilities District
- Renewable Northwest Project
- Last Mile Cooperative
- Bonneville Environmental Foundation

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