Maryland is a de-regulated energy state. This means that you are charged separately for two components: supply and delivery. Supply refers to the generation of electricity. Coal, natural gas and nuclear energy are the principal fuel sources to generate electricity in the United States. With the advent of electricity deregulation, customers can buy electricity from competing suppliers and buy a percentage (or all) of their electricity from green energy sources like wind or solar. If you do NOT choose an alternative supplier, your local electric utility (Pepco) buys power for you and passes along the cost. This is called Standard Offer Service.
The other part of getting electricity to you is delivery. This is referenced as distribution on your customer bill. Distribution rates cover the costs of maintaining, expanding and improving the electric system – the power poles, lines, meters, linesmen and customer service representatives who serve you. Potomac Electric Power Company (Pepco), a subsidiary of Pepco Holdings, Inc., provides electric service to residential and commercial customers in Washington, D.C., and Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland. 
Image credit The diagram shows how energy moves from energy generators to your home or business. Electricity generated from both conventional power (coal, nuclear and natural gas) as well as green power sources (wind, solar, biomass) is transferred to the energy grid. Your utility company or your clean energy supplier purchases power from the electricity generators. This electricity is then transmitted through the grid to your area where the utility company distributes the electricity to your home. |
Power plants can generate electricity from a number of different fuel sources, resulting in different emissions. Between 2008-2009, Pepco reported the following fuel sources for our region's Standard Offer Service:
· 52.3% coal
· 35.3% nuclear
· 7.9% gas
· 0.3% oil
· 0.3% hydroelectric
· 3.9% renewable energy
Green power is a subset of renewable energy that represents those renewable energy sources and technologies that provide the highest environmental benefit. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines green power as electricity produced from solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, biomass and low-impact small hydroelectric sources.
Conventional power includes combustion of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas and oil) and the nuclear fission of uranium. The environmental impacts from the combustion of fossil fuels are considerable, from mining, drilling, extraction and the emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollution. Although nuclear power does not emit greenhouse gases during power generation, it does require mining, extraction and long-term radioactive waste storage. |
