Green electricity has arrived in Mississauga.
Bullfrog Power, a company that started up just last September and has been rolling out its services slowly across Ontario since, has made an agreement with Enersource Corporation to allow Mississaugans to choose power that comes from renewable sources.
The Toronto company bills itself as, "Ontario's first 100 per cent green electricity retailer" since it provides power from wind turbines and low-impact hydro sites in northern Ontario.
"What we're hearing from our customers is that they want 100 per cent renewable power," says Jo Coombe, the firm's vice-president of marketing.
Bullfrog has been leaping in popularity for a simple reason: it makes the process of going green incredibly easy. All it really takes is a visit to its website, www.bullfrogpower.com or a telephone call to wean oneself off nuclear or coal-powered juice.
There's no change of equipment at your house or business because the company feeds green power into the overall grid and you continue to be supplied from that grid. It's really just an accounting transfer.
The premium you pay to be environmentally righteous, about $1 a day or $300-$400 a year, is not cheap. However, it doesn't just cover the cost of green power now. It funds it for the future, too. Bullfrog takes a portion of that premium and uses it to invest projects such as the wind farms in the Bruce Peninsula that are now its main suppliers.
"For people who are concerned about the sustainability of the environment, this is something very practical they can do," says Coombe, whose company is providing power to both the International Home Show coming up at the International Centre and the Cottage Life show in April. "It's a choice to make a better environment and many people see it as an investment in the future."
People like Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip, former Toronto Mayor and federal Cabinet Minister David Crombie, Stephen Page of the Barenaked Ladies and novelist Margaret Atwood are backing the Bullfrog.
Numerous environmental organizations have also signed up and many corporations large and small. Large as in RBC Financial Group and small as in Meadowlarke Stables, Mississauga's one remaining teaching stable in the far northwest corner of the city.
"We hear over and over that our customers are choosing us because they want to do something meaningful with their electricity dollars," says Coombe.
And what about that catchy name?
Bullfrog was chosen for three reasons: "The name said green without using it. Changes in frogs are one of the first signals of climate change. The bullfrog is a small animal with a very large voice."
Maybe this Bullfrog can signal a change in the climate of the discussion on Ontario's power future, which has taken a disturbing turn towards the nuclear.