I used to get electricity through Rocky Mountain Power ( part of the for-profit PacifiCorp) which has a program called Blue Sky where customers can elect to buy wind power by the 100-kilowatt-hour block.
Now I live in a town that gets electricity through UAMPS, a 49 member non-profit municipal cooperative which does have wind as part of its enegy portfolio but which does not have any mechanism for allowing customers to elect wind power.
How can I help UAMPS develop a program like Blue Sky?
continued...
I've called UAMPS about this and here's what I gather from them (but my understanding is far from perfect). UAMPS calls itself a wholesaler but it doesn't actually buy and then resell the energy (as the term suggests to me) - it just facilitates towns getting together, on a case by case basis, to buy or produce energy. So each town can choose its own energy sources, but they also have to do it on a very long term basis. If they want to use a certain coal or wind or gas plant they have to enter long term contracts to develop or use that source. They can't just go to the "energy store" each month, or even each year, and buy the precise mix their customers have elected.
I figured Rocky Mountain Power has to deal with this same essential problem. When they build a power plant it's a very long term investment, and yet they don't know what customers will choose from month to month, year to year. So how do they manage that? How does Blue Sky work internally? I asked UAMPS that question and got a terse, "You'd have to ask Rocky Mountain Power." It was only then that it occured to me that the two entities were competitors. Would RMP even tell me if I asked? Is that some kind of trade secret?
So here's what I want to know:
- How does Blue Sky work internally or would RMP tell me if I asked?
- Is there any structural barrier with UAMPS that prevents it from having a Blue Sky like program?
- Do I only need to get UAMPS on board with Blue Sky or will it be necessary for each individual member town to go along?
- What strategies can I use to appeal to the interests of each of the players here?
Thanks.
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