Powerex strikes green power deal with Pacific Gas & Electric

Powerex has struck a precedent-setting deal to deliver green electricity to a major California utility.

The five-year deal with Pacific Gas & Electric, which has 15 million customers, would see the BC Hydro electricity trading subsidiary annually deliver between 330 and 1,000 gigawatt hours of renewable power to PG&E.

That’s enough to meet the needs of between 30,000 and 90,000 households each year.

“This is the first true indication that there is a market for renewable electricity in California which can be served by BC Hydro/Powerex,” said British Columbia electricity sector commentator David Austin in a telephone interview.

He added that a five-year contract is one of the longest-term deals Powerex has struck, and that it’s “an indication that BC Hydro and Powerex feel confident that there is a modest amount of transmission available to deliver this product to California.”

The agreement between PG&E and Powerex needs approval from California’s public utilities commission. The price of the power has not been disclosed.

Powerex can tap into BC Hydro’s resources for the power, or aggregate it from renewable sources in 14 western states, plus B.C. and Alberta.