Npower unveils ‘green’ electricity

Npower is to launch an ethical electricity product for consumers, called Juice which is generated from wind and water.

The utility company has teamed up with the environmental lobby group, Greenpeace, to launch Juice next month.

The new product will cost no more than the current npower tariff. The company claims that Juice will be the first of its kind when launched, initially generating electricity from on-shore wind power and hydro electric sources. By 2003 the company plans to generate power from a wind farm out at sea.

An international consumer campaign to raise awareness of the environmental impact of global warming, to be launched by The Body Shop and Greenpeace in October this year, will also back the Juice product.

The launch will be supported by press advertising and direct marketing created by Ideas Unlimited.

While both npower and Greenpeace aim to appeal to consumers who are concerned with stopping environmental harm, they want to persuade policy makers that there is a demand for wind energy from wind farms at sea.

Powergen, another utility company, has launched GreenPlan, in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund. GreenPlan promises that for every unit of electricity a customer uses, Powergen will buy or generate the equivalent amount from a renewable source. The package will cost an average of &£21 per month – 3.5 per cent more than normal Powergen electricity costs.