Current | LES Customer Newsletter Current - March 2020

CURRENT
LES' CUSTOMER NEWSLETTER
1040 O Street, P.O. Box 80869
Lincoln, NE 68501
8 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday–Friday
Customer Service: 402.475.4211
Power Outage: 888.365.2412 - Toll Free
Nebraska811 (Call before you dig): 811 - Toll Free
MARCH 2020
Become a renewable energy
advocate with LES’ new REC rider
What are Renewable Energy
Certificates, or RECs? Since it is
impossible to distinguish the exact
source of energy once it enters the
electric grid, RECs were created to help
customers interested in prioritizing the
use of renewable energy resources.
Representing ownership over
the environmental attributes of
generating renewable energy, each
REC is considered separate from the
power generated and can be traded
independently of that power on the
open market. The purchase of these
RECs helps support renewable energy
resources and allows REC holders to
officially claim they were sourced from
100% renewable energy in a way they
may otherwise be unable to do.
Where do LES RECs come from? LES
maintains an ongoing commitment to
renewable energy resources. As part of
its renewable energy mix, LES currently
generates over 1.25 million megawatt-
hours of renewable electricity from
wind, solar and landfill gas each year.
With each MWh, equal to 1,000 kilowatt-
hours, of energy produced from these
resources, a single REC is created.
How does the REC rider work? LES has
created a new REC rider that allows
customers to have REC purchases,
covering their monthly energy usage,
added to their electric bill. At the
end of the year, LES retires these
RECs on behalf of the customers,
allowing participants to reduce their
carbon footprint and mark their home
or business’ energy use as 100%
renewable.
“By enrolling for LES’ REC Rider,
customers will continue to receive
electric service according to their current
rate, providing the same low cost and
reliability they’ve come to expect from
LES,” said Scott Benson, manager of
Resource & Transmission Planning.
If a customer already generates some
of their own renewable energy under
LES’ net metering or virtual net metering
programs, they will only be charged for
RECs to cover their energy consumption
that exceeds their renewable production.
“This is an opportunity for LES’
environmentally focused customers
to show their support for renewable
energy and sustainable practices in a
convenient, tangible way on their monthly
LES bill,” said Lucas Sabalka, LES board
member, “I use RECs to cover energy
used at my home and my business.”
The 2020 REC price is 0.061 cents/
kWh, which translates to under $7/
year for an average Lincoln area home.
The REC price will be updated by LES
annually, in January, based on the latest
market projections.
SUSTAINABILITY
In parallel with the Mayor’s Climate
Resiliency Task Force work, the Lincoln
Electric System Administrative Board
has been expanding their knowledge of
electric utility-related climate change
issues. This effort targets establishing
a new carbon reduction goal in May of
this year that will continue to build on
LES’ environmental initiatives.
“We’re extremely proud of the progress
we have made so far,” said LES CEO
Kevin Wailes. “In under 10 years we’ve
been able to increase our energy
production from renewables from 10%
of retail sales in 2010 to 46% in the last
year. We’ve also reduced CO 2 emissions
by 32% and reduced the carbon intensity
of the energy produced by 36%.”
LES is committed to facilitating
a cleaner energy future for the
community. This vision for the future
will require continued advancements in
technology to maintain reliable service
and affordable rates.
Hydro
Landfill Gas
The REC Rider is a voluntary program,
and participating customers can unenroll
at any time. However, if customers
unenroll they can no longer claim “100%
Renewable” status. Wind
To learn more about RECs, go to
LES.com/rec. Solar