The city of Durango, after a five-year hiatus, is going to buy 100 percent green power from La Plata Electric Association this year.

Customers pay a premium – 9 cents per 100 kilowatt hours over and above the going rate – for electricity produced from nonfossil fuels, such as solar, hydro or wind.

LPEA will buy wind-generated power from its supplier, Tri-State Generation and Transmission, for the city, LPEA spokeswoman Indiana Reed said. The city estimates it will need 9 million kilowatt hours this year.

The city bought 100 percent green power in 2007 and 2008, Mary Beth Miles, assistant to City Manager Ron LeBlanc, said Monday.

In 2007, the city paid $1.25 per 100 kilowatt hours, Reed said. The precipitous drop reflects more production and increased efficiency, she said.

The green surcharge for consuming 9 million kilowatt hours would cost the city $8,100. No one was available Monday to say what the city’s base energy cost is.

When the economy went sour, the city reduced its purchase of green power to 40 percent overall. But it bought 100 percent green power for the Transit Center, Durango Public Library, Recycling Center, water-treatment plant and sewage-treatment plant.

Meters at each of the facilities show how much electricity each uses.

The city has 155 electric meters, Reed said.

“I’m very pleased,” Mayor Dick White said. “Green power was a victim of the recession, but the economy has come back, and the cost of electricity is down,” White said. “We do what we can for energy efficiency.”

Businesses and homeowners can buy green power at the same premium the city pays. They also can contribute money to support local renewable-energy projects, such as putting solar panels on schools.

Reed said she was told the city’s green-power purchases this year will offset 6,360 metric tons of carbon emissions from burning coal.

The city is trying to set an example with its purchase of green power, Miles said.

The city also is offering $100 to 50 homeowners and $200 to 25 businesses to do an energy audit through the Four Corners Office for Resource Efficiency. After an audit, 4CORE has $500 each for 20 homeowners and/or businesses that make energy-efficiency upgrades.

The offers come on a first-come, first-served basis.

daler@durangoherald.com

For more information

Information about buying green power for a business or residence is available by calling La Plata Electric Association at 247-5786. Information about the incentives is available by calling Teresa Shishim, 4CORE program manager, at 259-1916.