TechPulse 360

Just like everything else, people have lofty aspirations to use clean technology. But they vastly underestimate the cost.

Americans are willing to pay 15% more for green power but know it will cost 50% more to generate

In California, for instance, voters were quick to approve a plan last year to build a bullet train from San Francisco to LA. But nowhere did they authorize a tax increase to pay for it.

This principle extends to green power. Americans support government mandates that require utilities to use renewable and non-polluting energy sources. But they underestimate how much it will raise their bills.

According to a study sponsored by the PR firm Burson-Marsteller and conducted by Penn Schoen & Berland Associates, 70 percent of Americans support the energy investments in the federal stimulus bill. A majority, in fact, say more should have been allocated.

But on average Americans say they are willing to pay just 15 percent more, or $18 on an average $117 electric bill, for green power. This is despite their belief that the power will cost 50 percent more to generate.

I guess this leaves Burson-Marsteller in the unenviable position of having to address the public misperception. Doing so would obviously be an important public service. But don’t underestimate the challenge. It’s a little like convincing someone to pay more for a product made in the United States. They know it is good for the country, but in the short term it will cost them more. So, they don’t, and the same is likely to hold true for green power.

The survey was conducted in May.