Nationally, the utility business is deregulating. In days gone by, utilities enjoyed a monopoly, which meant guaranteed profits, and generally reliable service. Deregulation means a need to compete -- and being green, or at least perceived as such, might help attract customers.

Being green means being perceived as a company that cares about the environment. Large manufactures have already found that there is big money in being green. Consumers want to believe that they are supporting environmentally sensitive companies.

Now, green power has been shown to attract consumers in the new utility wars, winning over 31% of residential customers in a pilot program in four Massachusetts towns. The program, sponsored by Massachusetts Electric Co., involved 4,727 volunteer customers who signed up to receive electricity from the supplier of their choice.

The results: while 66% picked a supplier based on price; 31% chose the green supplier. 3% chose a supplier based on other factors. The environmental supplier either used a re-newable energy source, or provided energy conservation guidance to its customers.

Homeowers were more likely to respond to the environmental marketing than businesses. Almost all of the businesses picked a supplier on the basis of price.

The four green options provided in the program generally offered energy produced using environmentally friendly methods and offered an energy/environmental home survey. Some companies also made donations to environmental projects.

The information provided in this column is written by Stuart Lieberman,a practicing environmental attorney, and is for general information purposes only. It is not legal advice and should not be used in place of legal advice.

Stuart Lieberman, Esq., and IRED.Com, Inc., will not accept any responsibilty for any reliance on the information in this column or any damages whatsoever resulting from reading this column.