Green Power Switch® Earns National Recognition

Federal Energy and Water Management Award

As public awareness of TVA’s Green Power Switch (GPS) continues to grow, so too does national recognition of the program. In 2002, GPS, which produces energy from cleaner, greener sources, earned one of the 53 Federal Energy and Water Management Awards.

The winning programs, selected by the Department of Energy and the Federal Interagency Policy Committee, are recognized for leading the way to energy efficiency with innovations that have practical applications in the nation’s homes and businesses. GPS was singled out for its outstanding contribution to the expansion of renewable resources.

“TVA is honored to receive a Federal Energy and Water Management Award,” says TVA Director Skila Harris. “The success of Green Power Switch is a result of the outstanding support it receives from distributors of TVA power and from the people of the Tennessee Valley who have made the choice to buy electricity generated from renewable sources.”

Top-10 Rankings

Green Power Switch received two top-10 rankings from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in February 2003.

In its ranking of leading utility "green pricing" programs for 2002, NREL placed GPS in the top 10 of more than 300 utility programs for both sales and total number of customers. Under green pricing, customers can choose to help support additional electrical production from renewable resources such as solar and wind power. Based on information provided by the utility companies, NREL develops its top-10 ranking in the following categories: total sales of renewable energy to program participants, total number of customer participants, customer participation rate, and the lowest premium charged for a green pricing service using renewable resources.

For the second year in a row, TVA’s GPS was ranked in the top 10 in two categories: seventh for total sales and ninth for customer participation rate.

“The utilities represented on these lists provide leading examples of how renewable energy can be successfully marketed to electricity customers,” says NREL senior energy analyst Lori Bird. “Whether large or small, all utilities have the potential to craft successful green pricing programs.”