The Energy Commission verifies the eligibility of renewable energy procured by load-serving entities, which include retail sellers, publicly owned utilities (POUs), and all other entities serving retail sales of electricity in California that are obligated to participate and report to the RPS.
For POUs, the Energy Commission determines the Portfolio Content Category classification of procurement claims, calculates procurement requirements, and determines RPS compliance.
The verification program establishes the rules and procedures that Energy Commission will use to determine if the POU meets the required RPS procurement requirements. After the verification reports are adopted, the compliance determination begins according with the RPS POU regulations.
The Energy Commission is authorized to issue violation notices for noncompliance and refer the POU to the California Air Resources Board to assess penalties.
California’s load-serving entities are required to procure electricity from eligible renewable resources to meet the following goals:
- 33 percent by the end of 2020
- 44 percent by the end of 2024
- 52 percent by the end of 2027
- 60 percent by the end of 2030
Load-serving entities (LSEs) include POUs, investor-owned utilities (IOUs), electricity service providers (ESPs), and community choice aggregators (CCAs).
RPS targets are verified based on a multiyear accounting period rather than annual accounting. These multiyear periods are compliance periods:
- Compliance Period 1: 2011-2013
- Compliance Period 2: 2014-2016
- Compliance Period 3: 2017-2020
The Energy Commission compiles verification analyses for all LSEs in a verification results report. The Energy Commission adopts verification results reports for each compliance period. Once the results are adopted, the process begins to determine if POUs comply with statutes and the RPS POU regulations.
For each compliance period, results from the verification analyses covered in this report will be issued separately for retail sellers and POUs.
Retail sellers and POUs must report their RPS procurement claims annually to the Energy Commission on July 1 of each year.
The reporting instructions, forms, and due dates for LSEs, which include retail sellers and POUs, are below:
Annual Reporting Instructions for LSEs
| Reporting Form | Description | Reporting Entity Affected | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| e-Tag Report | Summary report for e-Tags not tracked in Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System (WREGIS) for POUs. | POUs Only | July 1* |
| Hourly Report | Annual hourly meter and annual hourly final e-Tag schedule reporting for POUs claiming PCC 1 not directly interconnected to a California balancing authority. | POUs Only | July 1* |
*Of each calendar year, or the following business day if due date falls on a weekend or state holiday.
RPS-eligible facilities that use more than one resource must report their monthly fuel use data annually to the Energy Commission by April 1 of each year for the previous calendar year. RPS-eligible facilities using common carrier pipeline biomethane must report their biomethane data by April 1 of each year for the previous calendar year.
The reporting forms and due dates for facilities are below:
| Reporting Form | Description | Reporting Entity Affected | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GEN Report | Summary report for e-Tags not tracked in Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System (WREGIS) for POUs. | Facilities that use more than one resource. | April 1* |
| FDP Outage Summary | Functionally dedicated pipeline outages summary report used in annual FDP reporting. | Biomethane plants delivering biomethane using a functionally dedicated pipeline. | April 1* |
*Of each calendar year, or the following business day if due date falls on a weekend or state holiday.
Verification Methodology
The methods used by the Energy Commission to verify load-serving entity procurement claims.
The RPS Guidebook
The guidebook describes the eligibility requirements and processes for certifying renewable resources as eligible for California's RPS, as well as how the Energy Commission tracks and verifies compliance with the RPS.
POU Enforcement Regulations
Procedures on the enforcement of the RPS for POUs.
RPS Online System
A web-based online system used to streamline the RPS certification application and reporting processes.
See workshops, notices, and documents for the Renewables Portfolio Standard
