(Green) power to the people

Image by nkzs

Have you ever really thought about where your electricity comes from?  In New Zealand, electricity is generated from a variety of sources: coal, gas, geothermal energy, hydro dams, wind…  You probably know that hydro dams and wind power contribute less to global warming than creating electricity by burning coal or gas.  But most, if not all, of the power companies in New Zealand provide you with electricity derived from several different sources, and it can be difficult to find out how green the electricity you use in your home really is (or isn’t).  You can get an idea by using Greenpeace’s Clean Energy Guide.  It can tell you the which electricity company you should use, depending on where in New Zealand you live, to minimise your contribution to climate change. 

I’m currently signed up with Mercury in central Auckland and was disappointed to see that it fell on the red part of the Clean Energy Guide’s thermometer rather than the green.  Switching to a greener electricity provider seems to me like a low-effort way to reduce my carbon footprint.  But switching to the company that is the greenest on Greenpeace’s Clean Energy Guide is not the only option.  Powershop’s TV ad campaign really caught me.  The funky graphics and revolutionary slogan (“power to the people” – oh yes please!) have had me hanging out to find out more.  So today I took the plunge and signed up.  First I was able to check out how much Powershop could save me from what I currently pay.  Saving $100 per year alone probably wouldn’t have been enough to convince me to switch, but the well-packaged green power options hooked me.  The Green Power Company offers to offset the electricity you use with carbon credits, Tree Power will plant a tree for every 30 units of power you use, and Flower Power is just plain cute. In the end I opted for Tree Power, because I like the thought of contributing to an actual physical action that will benefit the local community in which it takes place. Now lets hope that I can keep track of my flat’s power usage well enough to avoid leaving my poor flatmates in the dark on a cold winter night.