Green Switch

Buy portions of your electricity from a TVA program that generates power from clean, renewable resources.

Blue Ridge Mountain EMC (BRMEMC) is offering residential members the choice to buy portions of their electricity from a program called Green Switch® offered through the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).

With Green Switch®, you may buy a portion of your TVA power generated from three renewable energy sources: wind, solar, and earth. What value is there for you in contributing to Green Switch®? First, Green Power is generated with renewable resource technology that lowers the environmental impact. Second, your investment in Green Switch® goes directly into developing new Green Switch® technology. Third, all the Green Power TVA generates is added to the Valley's power mix.

When can BRMEMC members join in Green Switch®? Immediately. Residential members can buy one block (200 kilowatt-hours) of electricity for as little as $2 per month added to your monthly bill or as many blocks as you like for $2 per block each. The cost per block won't change with your monthly usage. Commercial and industrial members can purchase multiple block minimums based on their electric use as defined by the rate schedule under which they are served.

Why does green power cost more? Because while renewable resources like sunlight may be free, the technology used to capture the energy these resources produce is still more expensive than traditional power generation methods. By choosing to pay a little more for Green Switch, you help advance the technology and increase the amount of electricity generated from cleaner sources.

TVA has built the first commercial wind-powered turbines in the southeastern U.S. on Buffalo Mountain in Anderson County, Tennessee. Solar generation sites are located in the service areas of participating public power companies. And methane gas is providing power at Allen Fossil Plant in Memphis, where a methane waste by-product from the city’s wastewater treatment plant is used for co-firing.

TVA has the capacity to provide as much as 97 million kilowatt-hours of green power annually. Physical laws determine where electricity is ultimately used, so power from these sources will go into TVA’s electric system as part of the Valley’s total power mix, rather than to individual homes or businesses. When the green power resources aren’t operating — for instance, when wind speeds are too low to generate energy — TVA’s other resources will continue to supply reliable electricity.