Silicon Valley Power

Silicon Valley Power (SVP) is a not-for-profit municipal electric utility owned and operated by the city of Santa Clara, California, USA.

History

Originally founded in 1896 as Santa Clara's electric department, for many years SVP only purchased wholesale energy.

In 1980 SVP became an energy producing utility for the first time since 1903, when it launched its own six megawatt cogeneration project, and in 1983 was the lead partner in a new 110-megawatt geothermal power plant.

Power reliability

According to a 2005 nationwide reliability benchmarking survey, Santa Clara's Silicon Valley Power placed first in several categories and second overall power reliability in the nation.^{[citation needed]}

Pricing

Recently, SVP brought online a brand new combined cycle gas turbine plant called the Donald Von Raesfeld Power Plant (DVR). The new plant produces 147 megawatts of electricity for the city, its businesses and its residents. As a result of this new plant and a diverse power source portfolio, the going rate for electricity in Santa Clara is considerably cheaper than that offered by Northern California's dominant utility, Pacific Gas and Electric.^{[citation needed]}

Environmental responsibility

SVP offers customers the option of selecting "Santa Clara Green Power", which is 100% renewable energy generated from wind and solar sources. SVP also offers rebates for customers who purchase Energy Star appliances or install a whole house fan.^{[citation needed]}

External links

• Silicon Valley Power
• rebates for residential customers
• Santa Clara Green Power
• Silicon Valley Power Generates Kilowatts and Revenues for Santa Clara