I was skeptical of the term “beneficial electrification” when I first heard it, mostly because I knew that more than half of our electricity in Pennsylvania was generated using fossil fuels. But when electric appliances are used in concert with energy efficiency measures, cleaner energy sources, and smart grid technology, beneficial electrification represents a meaningful step in addressing the climate crisis.
There are plenty of debates right now about energy independence and what that means, especially in light of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting boycotts of Russian fossil fuels. There’s not much I can do as an individual, but these events prompted my switch to a third-party electricity supplier, particularly one that focuses on utility-scale wind and solar projects here in Pennsylvania.
The second and third posts on this blog were about third-party electricity suppliers in Pennsylvania and my impending switch to support one of them. Three years later, spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, I finally got around to making a choice and making it happen. This two-part series is my renewed argument for an easy shift away from fossil fuel-based electricity generation.
I arrived at vegetarianism 20 years ago to support animal welfare; I upped the stakes to vegan this month to decrease my carbon footprint. Cutting animal products out of your diet is one of the best things you can do for the environment, and more people are taking steps in that direction for just one meal a day or one day a week, rather than going cold-turkey.
Starting with the 121 company links listed on www.papowerswitch.com, I worked my way through each website, determining who had residential plans in Duquesne Light territory. As of February 1, that number turned out to be 55. I recorded whatever information I could from each site, asking for further information when it was possible.
Much to my surprise, a few weeks ago Christian got some promotional mail from a third-party supplier advertising a green electricity plan, and instead of putting it straight in the recycling, he quietly put it on top of my mail pile. With that subject effectively broached, I set to work doing the research that had been on my to-do list for a few years now.