"So what we're saying to customers is if you want to participate in this program we're going to give you three options on how to participate, the level you want to participate at and we're going to pass on that extra cost to you of 2 cents per kilowatt hour," she said.
On average, the consensual rate increase would mean bronze-level program participants would pay an additional $1.50 per month and gold-level customers would pay an additional $6, she said.
The strides in incorporating renewable energy into the city's power portfolio through the green program would be over and above the existing goal of deriving 20% of Water and Power's energy from renewable sources by 2017, she said.
To lessen the city's dependence on highly pollutant foreign oil, Water and Power is also implementing a program to convert the city's fleet of Priuses into plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or PHEV's, she said.
Hybrid vehicles have a capacity of up to 50 miles on electricity, the equivalence of about $1 per gallon, Meyer said.
"There's a lot of promising information about PHEV's and we want to be a part of that," she said.
The vehicles would add to the city's current fleet of hybrid hydrogen-powered Priuses, which carry high fueling costs in spite of their environmental cleanliness, said John Joyce, Water and Power's solar program administrator.
"Hydrogen is a little further out in terms of its ability to be cost effective and widely used," he said. "We feel that PHEV's are a more near-term solution, due to the fact that the batteries have gotten so much better."
Water and Power's latest efforts will likely serve the community well in the future, Councilman David Gordon said.
"It all looks really impressive and beneficial, perhaps not immediately with some of the more advanced technology, but I'm sure long-term we're looking at the benefits to the city and the community as a whole," he said.
CHRIS WIEBE covers City Hall and the courts. He may be reached at (818) 637-3242.
