Switch to Wind Energy with No Windmill and No Hassle?! Sign Me Up!

Last Wednesday I had the pleasure of speaking about my vision for a net-zero homestead (more about that soon) at a 'Make the Switch' fundraiser for Green Energy Ohio. I expected to be a little nervous, speak too quickly, visit with like-minded folks, and enjoy Cafe Bella's fascinating small-space edible gardening. I didn't expect to find out that people who want to support alternative energy can do so within their current AEP electric service. Even better, the switch usually saves money! The deal is that AEP offers customers a choice of providers. You are probably well aware of this if you are an AEP customer because these providers send mail constantly encouraging you to switch. Most of them are competing on price alone. A few providers are competing on values - they provide energy by wind instead of coal.

I believe in renewable energy and was excited to know that our household can choose wind with no windmill on our property or difficulty beyond paying the regular electric bill.

How can our electric be powered by wind? Of course the actual electrons coming into my house will likely still be generated by coal. But choosing 100% wind means that our provider (AEP Energy 100% Wind) buys green energy credits from a wind farm versus buying energy from a fossil fuel power plant. As more people choose 100% wind, more green energy credits will be purchased and the wind farms will grow. Enough demand will support building wind farms nearer to home and eventually the juice coming to our house will be from wind.

The good folks at Go Sustainable! Energy brought this revelation to light. Greg, one of their green energy gurus, explains further:

"In AEP-Ohio territory, you have four primary components of your bill: Generation, Transmission, Distribution, and Service charge. Due to de-regulation, when you switch your provider the only effect on your bill is that your generation and transmission charges are removed from the AEP-Ohio portion of the bill and are relocated to your new provider. If you do the calculations, which I have done a few hundred times in my career, the "price to compare" number on your bill is the combination of your generation and transmission charges, divided by the number if kWh you consumed that time period.  Thus, if you switch to someone providing renewables or someone providing coal, you just replace that number with the number that they're offering.

It's a simple switch, and a powerful market signal to the utility providers that there are more customers who want to purchase all renewable energy, which in turn will cause more large wind farms to be built."

Most consumers who haven't already made a choice for an alternative provider will save money by switching. Greg, quoted above, dropped his rate from 7.55 cents/kWh to all wind at 7.19 cents/kWh.

Alas, our household was one of the very small percentage for whom switching to wind costs a little more. Our existing variable rate is 6.9 cents/kWh and the all wind rate is 7.19 cents/kWh. At our annual consumption, this increase will total around $30 for the year, a pittance to pay to support renewable energy.

Want to switch or compare? Here's what you do:

1) Check out electric provider options on Apples to Apples via PUCO.

2) Select your service provider, AEP for most Central Ohioans.

3) Scroll through the choices. If it makes sense to you, choose 100% wind operated by Ohio AEP Energy.

4) Fill out your name, address, and Service Delivery Identifier - listed on your bill under current charges.

5) Select 'I agree' to terms and conditions, type your signature, and click 'submit'. Easy peasy.

 I would love to see demand increase for non-polluting, non-fracking electric providers. Will you join me?

Alana's Food and Wine Columbus & My Food Blogger Confession

I had the pleasure of eating at Alana's Food and Wine for lunch a few weeks ago during the Ohio AEP gridSMART presentation. I consider previous dinners at Alana's as some of the best I've had in Columbus and, honestly, I will listen to damn near anything so long as it includes lunch at Alana's.

What first attracts me to Alana's is the colorful witty decor. Serving plates include a rainbow of fiesta ware. The sign above the bar proclaims, in cross-stitch no less, "home is where the vodka is". The artwork varies; Rick Borg's eclectic folk art was on display when I dined.

The warm indulgent environment may betray the delicacy of Alana's food to some but I feel like I belong in her dining rooms, having my own off-beat, alcohol-loving, well-worn style.

Our lunch was served family style during talks by Silver Spring and Ohio AEP. Unfortunately this arrangement allowed very little communication with the server and chef or among myself and other guests. My description of dishes is based on the loose menu provided and my hopefully accurate palate.

Lillet marinated pineapple served in adorable kumquat cups started the meal. Tasty breads of a few varieties were served in denim baskets. A second starter of a bean? puree on Parmesan and rosemary focaccia followed. This is the dish I most wish I knew more about as I could not identify the puree.

As appetizers were passed among the guests, we selected drinks. I choose the lemon quince fizz, wanting to enjoy the ne'er-offered local fruit, quince. It was sweet and refreshing. I caught an intoxicating whiff of the spiced hot cider as it was passed to my table mate.

Soups were distributed among the guests. I was served a smoked turkey soup and traded another blogger for the pumpkin soup as she didn't prefer cream soups. If my tastes are correct, the pumpkin was flavored with goat cheese and nutmeg in an interesting and delightful takeoff on the expected spices for a squash soup.

The entrée course was a little confusing, to be honest. Chopped frisee salad with local apples came out of the kitchen at the same time as pepper stuffed mushrooms and crab stuffed fingerling potatoes. Immediately following were heaping plates of mushroom risotto and shrimp puttanesca. The family style dishes barely fit on the table and I had trouble savoring this course as there were so many disparate items to consume in succession.

That said, the mushroom risotto was perfectly cooked and seasoned. I was surprised at first to taste crab in the potatoes; with no explanation from the server or menu I had assumed they were cheese stuffed. The pepper stuffed mushrooms were fantastically flavored. I chose not to eat the shrimp puttanesca as I was getting full and shrimp are not my favorite meat.

In the name of food blogging, I tasted both desserts. ;) The short cinnamon-spiced chocolate brownie was full of flavor without over-the-top richness. I wanted to eat more of the crunchy deftly spiced nut pie.

In all, it was a fabulous lunch. I was wanting more time to talk and focus on the food but we were there to learn about the gridSMART program. I am so pleased that MomCentral supported a small restaurant that features local seasonal ingredients when it might have been easier to host a catered lunch at a bland corporate site.

Now, for the food blogger confession I know you have been waiting for: I have no pictures from other Alana's meals because I don't usually take pictures of restaurant food. I love dining out but taking pictures while I eat delays and inhibits the restaurant experience for me. I have great respect for those who write dining blogs because they do interrupt their meals to take a few shots.

If y'all like my restaurant reviewing and want to read more of it, I might be persuaded to take pictures and write up more restaurants. Just slip a check in the mail or insert gratuitous comments below. ;)

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Alana's Food and Wine

2333 North High Street | Columbus, OH 43202 | 614-294-6783

Open Tuesdays - Sundays for dinner from 5 pm.

New Tech to Conserve Electricity: SmartGrid

Homesteaders usually tend towards old-fashioned methods of conservation.  We use hand-powered tools.  We line dry laundry and push a reel mower.  We use renewable fuels to grill and light the fireplace. But we dare not eschew high tech solutions in combination with these old school efforts.  A whole system of high tech ideas to increase efficiency is sweeping the nation under the umbrella name SmartGrid.

AEP Ohio invited me to a lunch at Alana's with other mom bloggers to learn about their new program in Ohio, gridSMART.  I'm writing separately about lunch at Alana's because it was lovely enough to warrant its own post.

The gridSMART program has many facets.  The first solution to roll out are Smart Meters, digital home electric meters to replace analog ones.  We learned that in north east central Ohio, households are already being given these wireless communication enabled digital meters.  This pilot group will test how a digital meter allows them to view their electric usage in fifteen minute segments. AEP will use the smart meters to better regulate energy production and respond to service disruptions.

Soon, customers with smart meters will be allowed to opt-in to a variable rate tariff that offers lower electric prices for all times of the day except peak hours of 1-7 pm.  For many users, this can result in a lower electric bill while reducing usage of expensive and eco-costly peaker plants.

Customers will also have the option to install a programmable communications thermostat hooked into their smart meter.  This thermostat, provided by AEP, will communicate with the meter.  During the summer, AEP may tell the thermostat to increase temperature (i.e. reduce air conditioning) by two to four degrees for short periods of time to reduce stress on the grid.  Customers will have the choice to override if necessary, but full participation will give them an eight dollar credit on their electric bill.

I am really excited about these forward thinking programs.  I am thrifty enough that I think it would be cool to monitor my energy usage on a micro-level and save money on my electric bill.  I can totally see myself competing for lowest electric usage within the 'neighborhoods' AEP defines of similar homes.  Some might worry about privacy with having a digital meter, but the AEP representatives assured me they have a team working on network security and very few individuals can see household use other than the customer themselves.  I am far more concerned about the lack of privacy I feel when the meter reader walks through the back yard.  If you have different opinions, remember that the rate and thermostat programs are totally voluntary.

To me, the worst thing about the gridSMART program is that my home is not eligible for the smart meter and communicating thermostat yet.  My parents live in a neighborhood that is part of the trial and I look forward to learning how the program works for them.

Even those of us not currently eligible can read the AEP website for tips to conserve electricity and notices about other special programs, including the in-home energy audits.  For a low cost, an auditor will come out to your house, make recommendations to increase efficiency and AEP offers rebates if you make the suggested improvements.  The auditors will replace incandescent bulbs with Compact Fluorescents and make other minor repairs on site included in the cost of the assessment.  We're signing up for one in January.

I know that these programs benefit AEP because if they can curb demand, they can avoid building expensive power plants.  They are great for individual households who can lower their bills through tiered rates and communicating thermostat rebates.  Perhaps most importantly, all of us benefit when energy is conserved so that we enjoy cleaner air and water.

Disclosure: I wrote this post after attending an informational luncheon on behalf of Silver Spring Networks and Mom Central Consulting and received a gift bag and gift card as a thank you for taking the time to participate. Opinions are my own.