NIPSCO has been making strides in moving beyond traditional energy and offering alternative and environmentally friendly energy options for home owners looking for greener and cleaner energy sources.
NIPSCO currently offers their Green Power Program which is a voluntary program which allows customers to designate either a portion or all of their entire monthly electric usage to be applied to power generated by renewable energy sources.
These energy sources are purchased on the customer’s behalf and feature renewable energy such as wind power bought from Midwestern resources.
This program is open to all NIPSCO electric customers regardless if you are a residential, commercial or industrial customer. For those who are residential customers, they have the option of choosing 25, 50 or 100 percent of their monthly electric usage towards the program. Commercial and industrial customers have the options of choosing 5 or 10 percent of their usage.
For customers wanting to participate in the Green Power Program, a monthly premium is paid in addition to the standard monthly bill. Currently the additional cost for this program is just under $2 for the average home who opts for 100% Green Power, making is more accessible to the average homeowner. Customers also have the option to change or cancel their level of participation at any time without the worry of any additional costs or penalty fees.
NIPSCO provides the green energy for this program through the purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates (REC’s) which allow NIPSCO to support all of the green energy used by their customers. Each REC is unique and is assigned a specific serial number and tracking system to ensure that each REC is used only once. RECs are certified through a national organization called Green-e Energy which ensures that REC’s are created from the proper sources and are properly claimed.
By hosting this Green Power Program, NIPSCO hopes to encourage the development of renewable energy for environmentally conscious customers and to support renewable energy.
“There are more than 900 homes and businesses currently signed up for the Green Power Program,” said Kathleen Szot, senior communications manager for NIPSCO. “The program is completely voluntary, so it’s great to see so many people in northern Indiana step up in support of renewable energy.”
This program also provides an alternative way for customers to utilize renewable energy options, but are unable to build their own solar panels or wind turbines. By allowing more accessible options, customers are easily able to make a positive environmental impact.
To see more information about NIPSCO’s Green Power Program, please visit www.NIPSCO.com/green.