PECO Begins Second Round of Bidding for Renewable Energy Credits
Company remains only utility in the state taking early action to fulfill Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards requirements
PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For the second time in 2008, PECO is inviting renewable energy producers to submit bids to sell alternative energy “credits” to help the company fulfill the requirements of Pennsylvania’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards (AEPS) legislation. The details of the request for proposal (RFP) will be discussed in a teleconference on Monday, November 24. Interested parties should e-mail AEPS_RFP@peco-energy.com for information or to register.
The AEPS Act requires that by 2011, 3.5 percent of the energy sold to PECO customers be comprised of energy generated from renewable resources such as wind, low-impact hydro, methane, geothermal, biomass, or fuel cells, as measured by alternative energy credits. Renewable energy generators sell these credits on a one-to-one basis each time that they produce one megawatt-hour of renewable energy.
PECO conducted its first competitive RFP in March 2008 and recently entered into an agreement to purchase 240,000 alternative energy credits during five years. With this second RFP, the company is seeking fixed-price, five-year agreements to purchase up to a total of 410,000 credits a year. PECO anticipates entering into the agreements by February 2009, with purchases beginning no later than December 31, 2009.
Once complete, the total environmental benefit of the alternative energy credit purchases will be the same as planting more than 33 million trees or not driving 428 million miles – that’s more than 4 times the distance from the earth to the sun. These efforts are part of an ongoing initiative at PECO to preserve the environment and help customers become more environmentally responsible. PECO’s other environmental projects include the opening of the company’s first ‘green building’ in suburban Philadelphia, the installation of a green roof and a new Crown Lights messaging system at the company’s Center City headquarters, upgrades to secure Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for many company buildings, and community and customer support for environmental and energy efficiency projects.
PECO has again retained Navigant Consulting to serve as an independent RFP monitor. The monitor will oversee PECO’s bidder evaluation process, evaluate bid proposals, and report to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) on the results of the RFP.
Interested participants should e-mail AEPS_RFP@peco-energy.com with the subject line ‘AEC Bidder Teleconference’ to obtain information on how to participate. PECO will release information on the RFP process to interested parties as it becomes available. Additional AEPS RFP information is available online at www.peco.com/aeps.
Based in Philadelphia, PECO is an electric and natural gas utility subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC). PECO serves 1.6 million electric and 480,000 natural gas customers in southeastern Pennsylvania and employs about 2,500 people in the region. PECO delivered 78.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 39.9 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2007. Founded in 1881, PECO is one of the Greater Philadelphia Region's most active corporate citizens, providing leadership, volunteer and financial support to numerous arts and culture, education, environmental, economic development and community programs and organizations.
Navigant Consulting, Inc. (NYSE:NCI) is a specialized independent consulting firm providing dispute, financial, regulatory and operational advisory services to government agencies, legal counsel and large companies facing the challenges of uncertainty, risk, distress and significant change. The Company focuses on industries undergoing substantial regulatory or structural change including healthcare, energy and financial and insurance services, and on the issues driving these transformations. "Navigant" is a service mark of Navigant International, Inc. Navigant Consulting, Inc. (NCI) is not affiliated, associated, or in any way connected with Navigant International, Inc. and NCI's use of "Navigant" is made under license from Navigant International, Inc. More information about Navigant Consulting can be found at www.navigantconsulting.com.
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