Wwp Will Sell Wood, Wind Power

Starting May 1, residents of Deer Park, Hayden and Hayden Lake will be able to buy wood power by the block - and we’re not talking cords.

Washington Water Power Co. will sell blocks of wood or wind power for $1 each as part of an experimental program that will give 7,826 of its customers a choice of electricity rates and resources.

Idaho regulators approved More Options for Power Service II in January. Washington officials gave their consent a month earlier.

For $1 added to their monthly electricity bill, Program Manager Catherine Bryan said, subscribers will get either 50 kilowatt-hours of wind power or 73 kilowatt-hours of wood power.

The average home uses 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month, so for an additional $20 home owners can buy enough wind energy to meet their needs.

That power is not delivered directly to homes or businesses, Bryan said. Instead, the alternative energy is blended with other electricity already in the utility’s system.

Subscribers can buy as many blocks as they want, she said.

So-called “green power” won’t be their only option.

Residents of the three communities can stick with their traditional, regulated rate, or buy electricity for a year or by the month at rates set in the open market.

The annual rate will be set April 1, the monthly rate on the first of each month.

Subscribers who choose one of the non-traditional options are committed for at least one year of the two-year program. If they want to bail out after one year, Bryan said, they will receive power the second year at a price 5 percent higher than the regulated rate.

She said residents and businesses in the communities will start receiving educational material next month.

WWP tried unsuccessfully to get a similar program approved for statewide use by the Washington Legislature.

, DataTimes