Green Power Consumer Rights

For an Educated and Informed Customer of Environmentally Preferable Energy

For a more detailed description of these rights, please download the full Green Power Consumer Rights document. The requirements of the Green-e program ensure that a customer’s green power rights as articulated below are protected so long as the customer purchases Green-e certified options.. 

The Right to Quality Assurance

When a business, institution, or individual customer buys a renewable electricity-based option, they have the right to be confident that they are taking a practical step towards a cleaner and more sustainable energy economy. Purchase of such "green" power provides both public and private benefits. Customers have a right to be informed about what they can expect from their renewable energy purchases. This ensures that every customer receives the benefits they are paying for and expecting.

Ensuring that your renewable energy is Green-e certified is the single best and most reliable way you can protect and guarantee your rights as a green power customer. Green-e certification assures that you will receive the benefits you paid for and produce the positive results you intended.

The Right to Product Information

The customer has the right to be fully informed about the renewable electricity-based option they are purchasing and their renewable energy vendor.

Every renewable energy buyer has a right to clear, complete and easily understood information about contract pricing, terms, and conditions-before they buy. Providers of Green-e certified options commit to providing this information to prospective customers and that this information has been reviewed by Green-e program staff.

The customer has the right to receive a prospective disclosure statement, before they buy, that lists the fuel sources in the option being marketed. That list can be easily compared to the historical energy generation facts for the electricity they are currently buying. Providers of Green-e certified options commit to providing this information to prospective customers and that this information has been reviewed by Green-e program staff.

The Right to the Environmental Benefits of Renewable Energy Purchased

Consumers of renewable energy have the right to know whether the environmental benefits associated with renewable energy are part of their purchase.

As a matter of basic principle, Green-e believes a customer who buys renewable energy has the right to receive all the environmental attributes associated with the renewable energy at the time the power was generated. In some cases, such as when law or regulation associated with cap and trade programs that may allocate certain benefits to other parties (such as SOx and NOx credit schemes), these attributes do not transfer to the customer because they were not an attribute of the original generation. In other cases, attributes may be removed and sold separately by the seller or other actor in the value chain.

It is important for customers to understand that without verification of ownership or retirement on the their behalf, customers can make no claims about environmental benefits associated with generation of the renewable energy they have purchased, including but not limited to greenhouse gas or other emissions reductions.

The Right to Clear Contract Terms and Conditions

Consumers of renewable energy have the right to clear contract terms and conditions.

The customer has the right to receive marketing materials in which all environmental and other marketing claims are accurate and consistent with application guidelines like the Federal Trade Commission's Environmental Marketing Guidelines and the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) Marketing Guidelines for Electricity. The Green-e program reviews provider marketing materials and claims to ensure that environmental and other marketing claims are reliable and accurate. Such claims must:

• Be factual and objectively verifiable
• Be clear and prominent to prevent deception
• Not represent that customers are actually delivered electrons from specific generation facilities
• Present comparative claims in a manner that makes the basis for the comparison sufficiently clear to avoid customer deception
• Not overstate environmental attributes or benefits, expressly or by implication

The customer has the right to purchase renewable energy that is independently certified and verified by a reputable third party. Green-e certification and verification ensures this result. Third party certification and verification programs are designed to ensure that renewable energy options meet strict environmental and consumer protection standards and that customers receive what they pay for.

Download the complete Green Power Consumer Rights in PDF.