Reader comments
Lawmaker focuses on renewable energy

The real benefit of renewable energy, outside of being clean, is that it is price stable. The challenge is getting monopoly utilities to pass that price stability onto consumers. Currently, Rocky Mountain Power prices its renewables to "good hearted" consumers at a price premium over their standard, dirty fossil-fuel rate, sending the wrong price signal to consumers that renewables are always more expensive than traditional coal. Other utilities have different pricing policies. For example, Austin Energy (in Texas) has sold wind power for a slight premium over its standard fossil fuel rate that is locked in for 10 years! Imagine no price increases on your energy bill for a decade! Early subscribers of Austin's wind program are actually paying less for their electricity than other customers who stayed with the volatile standard fossil-fuel rate (who have experienced the roller coaster ride of natural gas prices). Austin's pricing has been so successful that there was a long waiting list to subscribe to wind power, mostly from businesses who want long-term cost stability, and the utility had to resort to a lottery system to select new customers. Customers should demand that Rocky Mountain Power do a similar pricing strategy to encourage demand.