Green Mountain Power Launches New Program for Customers to Combat Global Warming

Green Mountain Power (NYSE: GMP)announced its introduction of a new monthly renewable energy service,
CoolHomesm, that will enable its customers to take action in the fight
against global warming. Voluntary charitable donations will help to build
Vermont methane generators and other renewable energy projects, which will
reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.
"We've made it very simple for customers to do something that works every
day to fight global warming," said Stephen C. Terry, Green Mountain
Power's Senior Vice President of Corporate and Legal Affairs. "Now our
customers who are concerned about global warming can choose to include a
contribution to the non-profit Clean Air-Cool Planet on their Green
Mountain Power bill each month. Our electricity supply is already
unusually low in emissions. Now our customers can choose to lessen the
impact of their total energy use," he says.
Green Mountain Power's new CoolHomesm program allows customers to support
fledgling renewable energy projects through $6 monthly tax-deductible
donations to Clean Air-Cool Planet (CA-CP), a nonprofit organization
bringing climate change solutions to the Northeast. CA-CP in turn uses
the donations to support development of new renewable energy projects
through Vermont-based NativeEnergy.
Each household participating for one year reduces carbon dioxide emissions
by six tons - the annual fossil fuel and electricity-related emissions of
the average Vermont household. CA-CP makes this happen by purchasing and
retiring "renewable energy credits" from NativeEnergy, allowing
participating households to enjoy a year of "climate-neutral" living.
"We're excited to work with Green Mountain Power in this initiative," said
Adam Markham, Clean Air-Cool Planet's Executive Director. "It's a great
way to increase awareness about global warming and demonstrate the
importance of individual action.
To show their support for the program, Green Mountain Power, the
Department of Public Service and the Public Service Board have all offset
a year's emissions from their offices' total energy use. The Department
played a leadership role in calculating the annual carbon dioxide
emissions for the entire office building the Department and the Board
share with AARP and Chittenden Bank. Their collective participation
resulted in Montpelier's first "climate-neutral" large office building.
"I'm delighted to see Green Mountain Power offering this fine choice to
its customers," noted Michael Dworkin, Chairman of the Vermont Public
Service Board. "This kind of market-based initiative will give thousands
of Vermonters a chance to make a contribution towards a better world for
all of us. At the same time, it shows how a small utility can be a leader
in an emerging field. I look forward to this innovation becoming a model,
as others offer similar choices to their customers."
The Green Mountain Power program passes 100% of the donated funds to Clean
Air-Cool Planet, which supports the development of new renewable energy
projects utilizing the services of Vermont-based NativeEnergy. The
financial support is provided through Clean Air-Cool Planet's up-front
purchase of long-term streams of the projects' renewable energy credits,
which Clean Air-Cool Planet will then retire to assure permanent
environmental benefit and fulfill its mission to reduce global warming.