Posts
A reader sent in the following comment. It is published unchanged.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of the AURORA CITIZEN.
I noticed during a visit to the Town Hall some weeks ago that they're now running on "Bullfrog Power". The website at http://www.bullfrogpower.com/
There is a media release here:
http://www.bullfrogpower.com/08releases/york_aurora.pdf
"The cost to each municipality is three cents per kWh over current electricity commodity rates, representing an annual cost for the Town of Aurora of $20,000 and $70,000 for The Regional Municipality of York.
Bullfrog customers continue to draw power from the electricity grid in the same way that they always have. Customers don't need any special equipment, setup or wiring. Verified annually by an independent audit by Deloitte, the amount of electricity Bullfrog customers buy is injected onto the electricity grid from EcoLogo-certified, green generation sources, including wind power and low-impact water power that displace polluting and carbon-intensive sources such as coal."
I'm not a power expert... but I'm wondering if someone can explain how this works. If you think of it like a liquid...The Town buys $xxx of electricity, Bullfrog 'injects' that amount of electricity into the grid, and it zips it's way along to the town hall, for a premium price.
Are there not laws that say ALL electricity should be as green as possible? The town hall is paying for the generation of the electricity at a premium - 3 cents per kWh over the current rate - but I doubt that there's a way to measure exactly what % of this 'green electricity' is actually used. Going back to the water analogy - isn't it the same idea as the Dasani water sold by Coke that starts out as Mississauga tap water? It's marketed as 'special' and better for you - but how does a consumer REALLY know?
Things that make you go 'hmmmm'.
Share your thoughts.
Use the envelope and pencil icons immediately below to forward this post to friends or leave a comment.
1 comment:
I read about the Bullfrog power a while ago and I did not realise that it will actually cost the Town more money. In an economic climate where companies are laying off and budgets are tight, do we really need to pay extra for electricity under the guise of "green"?
It seems to me that the green initiative must be offset by common sense.
I agree with the origincal poster though about the physical method that this works. It is similar to how we have company reps knocking on doors selling their natural gas or hydro. I don't know about you, but I have only natural gas line into my house or one hydro connection. It seems to me that the extra cost is not because of the "green" but the paper work to keep track of who buys from who.
Post a Comment