Our Power Supply
Sussex REC power is 69% carbon free. Besides helping reduce carbon emissions, our power sources impact how much we have to pay for energy.
Cooperatives across the US are working to increase the percentage of power obtained from renewables. We are also committed to providing information and tools to help our members conserve and make the best energy decisions possible.
Owning the sources means we have greater price stability. The NJ/PA cooperatives hold a 10% ownership in the Susquehanna Steam facility with PPL Energy holding the other 90%. Our hydroelectric supplies come from the New York Power Authority and the Raystown Dam in PA that we own together with the PA cooperatives.
The balance of our power is purchased via long term contracts with power suppliers in the open market.
Susquehanna Steam Electric Station
Our ownership in this nuclear generation facility provides our members with a long term, highly reliable and carbon-free power supply. Nuclear generation facilities of this type contribute significantly to effort to reduce and eliminate emissions from fossil-based sources. Want to find out more? Click on the title to read about the facility at the Department of Energy's website.
Raystown Hydroelectric Project
This hydroelectric project is the first in the State of Pennsylvania to receive a Low Impact rating from the Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) in Portland, ME. This certification is awarded to hydroelectric projects that have reduced or avoided their environmental impacts in accordance with the criteria set forth by the Institute. This means the facility minimizes its environmental impact at the same time provides carbon-free renewable energy. Click on the tile of this section to read more about the facility at the LIHI website.
Contract Purchased Power
With nearly 70% of our power coming from our own generation, your cooperative is in an excellent position to weather price fluctuations in the energy markets. The balance of our power needs is purchased in the energy markets. This is a typical commodity-style market where businesses with power to sell make their power available to companies needing to buy. Our power supplier, Allegheny Electric Cooperative, Inc. participates in this market and secures multi-year power contracts at the best possible rates for the cooperatives in NJ and PA.
How does the Grid work?
If you have an interest in learning more about the system that brings the electricity from where its made to where its used, check out this video on YouTube. Produced by PJM*, it helps the lay person learn about the system that powers our lifestyle.
*PJM Interconnection, founded in 1927, ensures the reliability of the high-voltage electric power system serving 51 million people in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. PJM coordinates and directs the operation of the region’s transmission grid, which includes 6,038 substations and 56,500 miles of transmission lines; administers a competitive wholesale electricity market; and plans regional transmission expansion improvements to maintain grid reliability and relieve congestion.
