CPUC Report Shows Utilities Remain on Track With Renewable Energy Goals in Fight Against Climate Change
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) today issued its annual Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) report showing that the program, which is one of the most ambitious in the country, remains on track and is helping to drive down renewable contract prices and increasing in-state procurement.
The state’s RPS requires investor-owned utilities, electric service providers, and community choice aggregators to procure 33 percent of retail sales per year from eligible renewable sources by 2020 and 60 percent by 2030. In 2018, Senate Bill (SB) 100 was signed by then-Governor Brown, setting a target goal of a 100 percent carbon free electric grid by 2045. In June 2019, the CPUC began implementing SB 100, setting the RPS procurement quantity requirement beginning in 2021.
As of 2019, the large investor-owned utilities have executed renewable electricity contracts necessary to meet 2020 RPS requirement and are forecasted to have excess procurement for the next six years. Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs) and electric service providers will need to procure additional renewable resources to meet the 33 percent RPS requirement in 2020.
The average forecasted RPS percentages for the retail sellers are as follows:
|
Forecasted Average RPS Percentages |
|||
|
|
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
|
Investor-Owned Utilities |
40% |
37% |
44% |
|
Small and Multi-Jurisdictional Utilities |
26% |
25% |
28% |
|
Community Choice Aggregators |
46% |
41% |
29% |
|
Electric Service Providers |
29% |
27% |
18% |
Further, the RPS program has helped achieve large reductions in costs for renewable electricity. Contract prices for RPS-eligible energy dropped an average of 11.5 percent per year between 2007 and 2018. In 2018, the trend of falling contract costs continued and reached a historic low average price of $38/MWh. An average of 80 percent of the investor-owned utilities, small and multi-jurisdictional utilities, and CCAs renewable portfolios were solar and wind resources in 2018.
The investor-owned utilities and small and multi-jurisdictional utilities are well-positioned to meet the 65 percent long-term contracting requirement that begins in Compliance Period (2021-2024) while 11 of the 27 CCAs that plan to serve load in 2021 are also well positioned.
The report is available at: www.cpuc.ca.gov/RPS_Reports_Data.
The CPUC regulates services and utilities, safeguards the environment, and assures Californians’ access to safe and reliable utility infrastructure and services. For more information on the CPUC, please visit www.cpuc.ca.gov.
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