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From the President
On behalf of our Board of Directors, member communities, and staff, welcome to wppienergy.org.
I encourage you to explore this web site, which is dedicated to keeping you informed about WPPI Energy, our member utilities, the services we offer, and the issues that matter to our joint-action agency.
This is a challenging time for all, including the utility industry. The cost of building new power plants has increased dramatically in recent years, and there is great uncertainty concerning the timing and cost of new environmental regulations to address climate change. As a result, it is very difficult and very expensive to build new power plants today.
To address these challenges, one of the most important, immediate things we can do is to help customers use energy much more efficiently. Doing so will help lower utility bills, enable us to avoid or defer building expensive new plants, and lower our greenhouse gas emissions. Toward that end, we've more than tripled our funding for energy efficiency and conservation programs for our members and customers.
Because we must practice what we preach, we also are working to reduce our own energy use. I encourage you to come and visit WPPI Energy's highly-efficient, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) "Gold" headquarters, which showcases our commitment to energy conservation and efficiency.
For the long term, we will continue making smart power supply resource decisions to control costs while providing excellent services. One of the most important resource decisions we made was to participate as an owner in the new Elm Road Generating Station in Oak Creek, Wis. This supercritical coal-fired power plant will serve our customers for decades to come at a cost far lower than new plants being proposed today, and it will be by far the cleanest and most efficient coal plant in Wisconsin. As a result of this and other strategic decisions, WPPI Energy is fortunate to have planned carefully for a diverse portfolio of resources to meet our long-term energy needs. We will not need to build any new plants until after 2020.
Energy from renewable resources makes up an important part of WPPI Energy's diverse portfolio. In Wisconsin and Michigan, utilities are required to use 10% renewable energy by 2015. WPPI Energy is far ahead of the curve, with resources in place six years early to achieve this goal six years early, in 2009. The fixed-price contracts through which we purchase renewable energy will prove increasingly valuable to customers over time, as costs for fossil fuel generation rise substantially. WPPI Energy will continue increasing our renewable portfolio to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and costs.
While industry issues continue to present new challenges, I am pleased to report that we are well prepared to respond. WPPI Energy's shared strength -- we now serve 51 communities in three states -- and our members' unity of purpose is what drives our joint action agency, putting us in a very strong position now and for the future. WPPI Energy member utilities are tremendously valuable assets to their communities and customers, and we stand behind our members to preserve and enhance this value for the long term.
Thank you for visiting WPPI Energy online. Please feel free to contact us to let us know how we can improve our web site. We welcome your thoughts.
Roy Thilly
President and CEO
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