The New Hampshire retail competition pilot program and the role of green marketing

Technical Report · Fri Oct 31 23:00:00 EST 1997

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/563192· OSTI ID:563192

Holt, E A ^[1]; Fang, J M ^[2]

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1. Ed Holt and Associates, Inc. (United States)
2. National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)

Most states in the US are involved in electric industry restructuring, from considering the pros and cons in regulatory dockets to implementing legislative mandates for full restructuring and retail access for all consumers. Several states and utilities have initiated pilot programs in which multiple suppliers or service providers may compete for business and some utility customers can choose among competing suppliers. The State of New Hampshire has been experimenting with a pilot program, mandated by the State Legislature in 1995 and implemented by the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (NHPUC), before it implements full retail access. Green marketing, an attempt to characterize the supplier or service provider as environmentally friendly without referring to the energy resource used to generate electricity, was used by several suppliers or service providers to attract customers. This appeal to environmental consumerism was moderately successful, but it raised a number of consumer protection and public policy issues. This issue brief examines the marketing methods used in New Hampshire and explores what green marketing might mean for the development of renewable energy generation. It also addresses the issues raised and their implications.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-83CH10093
• OSTI ID: 563192
• Report Number(s): NREL/TP--260-23446; ON: DE98001733
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
COMPETITION
DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS
DEREGULATION
ECONOMICS
ELECTRIC POWER INDUSTRY
ELECTRICITY INDUSTRY
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
EVALUATION
GREEN MARKETING
MARKETING
NEW HAMPSHIRE
PILOT PROGRAMS
POWER DISTRIBUTION
PRICES
RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATION
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
SERVICE SECTOR