Green Pricing Program Marketing Expenditures: Finding the Right Balance

Technical Report · Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/968189· OSTI ID:968189

Friedman, B; Miller, M

In practice, it is difficult to determine the optimal amount to spend on marketing and administering a green pricing program. Budgets for marketing and administration of green pricing programs are a function of several factors: the region of the country; the size of the utility service area; the customer base and media markets encompassed within that service area; the point or stage in the lifespan of the program; and certainly, not least, the utility's commitment to and goals for the program. All of these factors vary significantly among programs. This report presents data on programs that have funded both marketing and program administration. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) gathers the data annually from utility green pricing program managers. Programs reporting data to NREL spent a median of 18.8% of program revenues on marketing their programs in 2008 and 16.6% in 2007. The smallest utilities (those with less than 25,000 in their eligible customer base) spent 49% of revenues on marketing, significantly more than the overall median. This report addresses the role of renewable energy credit (REC) marketers and start-up costs--and the role of marketing, generally, in achieving program objectives, including expansion of renewable energy.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-99-GO10337
• OSTI ID: 968189
• Report Number(s): NREL/TP-6A2-46449; TRN: US200924%%344
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
EXPENDITURES
MARKETERS
MARKETING
NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY
START-UP
NREL
BARRY FRIEDMAN
MACKAY MILLER
RENEWABLE ENERGY CERTIFICATES
RECS
ENERGY CONSUMERS
ELECTRICITY
GREEN POWER MARKETING
GREEN PRICING
RENEWABLE ENERGY
ELECTRICITY MARKETS
Energy Analysis
Crosscutting
Biomass
Distributed Energy and Electricity Reliability
Geothermal Technologies
Solar Energy Technologies
Wind and Hydropower Technologies