New Web Site Helps Consumers Plug Into Clean, Green Electric Power

Conscientious consumers got a new tool today as a coalition of Texas environmental and consumer organizations unveiled a new Power Scorecard^TM, an Internet-based rating tool to help area consumers shop for clean and green power.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />

?In many areas of Texas, consumers can now shop for electricity the way they shop for cars or clothes,? said Public Citizen?s Tom Smith.  ?Price matters, but so does the source of power and its impact on the environment.  The Power Scorecard^TM will help consumers make informed choices.?

The Power Scorecard^TM (www.powerscorecard.org) gives consumers clear, accurate, and reliable information about the real environmental differences among electricity products. It rates the comparative environmental performance of each of the products now available in competitive electric markets in Texas.

For example, powering the average 1,200-square-foot home for a month produces more pollution than a car in average use over the same period.  Powering an average household produces approximately 1,470 pounds of heat-trapping carbon dioxide per month, compared to less than 1100 pounds/month for an auto. A house also produces nearly the amount of smog-forming nitrogen oxides as an automobile.

The site provides differing depths of technical detail: For consumers seeking only a quick overview, the Power Scorecard^TM first offers overall ratings of the environmental friendliness and price of each available product.  Consumers wanting more information can pull up a detailed comparison of up to three products that rates how each product stacks up for its specific impacts on climate change, acid rain, air toxics, water quality and the land. 

After comparing products, consumers can examine a product?s specific profile, including links to its Energy Facts Label and the contact information needed to make a product selection. 

?Individual Texans really can make a difference,? said Jim Marston, regional director of Environmental Defense.  ?Electric competition is only two years old in Texas, but we?ve already seen an explosion in wind, solar and other renewable energy projects. By purchasing cleaner, greener electricity, Texans can help boost the Texas economy and clean up the environment.

The Power Scorecard^TM was developed by a coalition of national environmental organizations, including Environmental Defense, the Izaak Walton League, The Natural Resources Defense Council, the Northwest Energy Coalition, the Pace Law School Energy Project, and the Union of Concerned Scientists, to help consumers nationwide tap the power of choice offered by retail electricity competition.