Municipal electric systems invest in power plants and other generation assets to control costs and insulate customers from price fluctuations associated with energy and capacity markets.
American Municipal Power, Inc. (AMP) and its member communities own and operate facilities that generate power. Member communities participate in ownership of individual assets according to their unique needs and priorities.
AMP, at its members' discretion, sells all or a portion of the renewable energy certificates (RECs) from its renewable energy projects, using the revenues received from the REC sales to help lower the wholesale power costs for AMP members.
For every megawatt-hour of electricity produced by renewable sources, a REC or credit is created. The owner of that REC is entitled to claim all of the environmental attributes associated with that renewable energy generation. On behalf of its members, AMP retains some, not all, of the RECs associated with the electricity it generates or purchases from renewable sources. Accordingly, not all of the power provided to AMP's members can be characterized as renewable, even if it was generated by a renewable-fueled generating resource.