Manager's Column

Authored by: Richard Fowler

Most of the cooperatives in Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Oklahoma and Arkansas offer green power to their members. Howard Electric also offers green power to our members. Arkansas, for example, owns 3 hydropower plants and Missouri uses wind generation and hydropower to supply their members’ needs. Now, for an extra $25, you too can purchase 1,000 kWh’s of “green“ power.

Folks, let’s reason together for a moment. Visualize the average kWh leaving the wind farm on a windy day. Usually it travels down the transmission lines on the path of least resistance. The only basic difference from one kWh to the other is the cost it took to create it.

Now consider this. Where is that higher priced green kWh going to end up? If you said, “Well, it could end up anywhere", you would be correct.

 How would you like to work at the local cooperative office and sell this green power? I can hear you now, “For an extra $25, you too can have green power delivered right to your meter.” Uh-huh. Right.

I talked to a member once who said “I want some that green power, but I only want 10% green power.”

“Only 10%? Surely you can afford 50%. After all, it is green,” I said.

“Okay, I’ll take 50% but how will I know I’m getting the green stuff?” he replied.

“Well, if you’ll go outside at night and look up at your power lines on a night with no moon, you will see your power line putting off a slight green glow, but to really see the green glow, you’ll probably want to buy 100% green.”

Now really, if you stop and think about it, you are already getting a random portion of our wind and hydropower now, and you didn’t even have to pay extra for it. Electrons take their orders from physics, not from economists or politicians. We have no way of directing a “green” electron to your meter.

Associated Electric, your generation cooperative, will continue to purchase “green” power and randomly disperse it when the winds blow and the rains fall. After all, we’ve been purchasing hydropower for our members for decades. However, because it is now politically correct to sell green power, utilities from the east coast to the west coast are marketing and selling “green power” and so – if you want to send extra money for green power – we’ll take it. By the way, to really see the green glow, you’ll probably want to buy 100% green.