In Texas, Austin Energy sells the most green power of any utility in the country, buying electricity from wind farms in west Texas. But its customers’ appetite for renewable power has shrunk with higher prices.
Earlier this year, it managed to sell only 1 percent of a batch of wind power it offered to customers — no doubt because the program would have added US$58 a month to the average home electric bill. That was far more than in previous years, resulting from a combination of factors, like congestion of transmission lines in Texas.
The utility has since slashed the prices, and Roger Duncan, its general manager, said that Austin Energy might change its program so that its green power costs for future projects are spread to all customers — not just the few who voluntarily pay extra.
“If we’re going to transition to renewable energy,” Duncan said, “you can’t depend on a small percent of the customer base to do this.”
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