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Deck: 
Some benefits slow to come, but the future still looks profitable.
Fortnightly Magazine - September 15 2002
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Some benefits slow to come, but the future still looks profitable.

Currently in the United States, many utilities are offering renewable energy to their customers at a premium rate, usually from two to four cents/kWh above regular rates. At the inception of the first of these green pricing programs (GPPs) in the mid-1990s, proponents put forward a number of ways in which utilities could benefit from making such offerings. These benefits included improving relations with local stakeholders, gaining an education about renewable technologies, diversifying generation portfolios, and just plain making money. The four promised benefits of GPPs that have not yet met managers' expectations are improved customer satisfaction with their utility, educating utilities for deregulation, learning more about utility customers and segmentation, and delivering a profitable product to the utility.

From the experience of these green energy managers, we formed the following recommendations for those seeking both to improve sales of renewable energy in the United States, and to reap other important benefits for their utilities:

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