Why does California have a standard?

The intentions of requiring investor owned utilities to procure or build renewable resources are multifaceted. The first and more obvious reason is to promote the use of clean energy resources in order to avoid negative environmental impacts. Other reasons include the spurring of generation growth to serve increasing demand, and the replacement of retiring fossil fuel power plants with renewable fuel plants. Another strong argument for renewable energy is the opportunity to depend on a fuel that is infinitely available for consumption.

How does the RPS apply to municipal utilities such as Redding Electric?

The language of Senate Bill 1078 was structured to support the local control and flexibility of municipal utilities. The investor-owned utilities of California are required to comply with the standard, as the control of these utilities is in the hands of the government of California. However, municipal utilities are controlled locally by their respective governing boards or councils. Therefore, the law states that each utility’s governing board is responsible for implementing and enforcing a local RPS which:

“recognizes the Legislature’s intent to encourage renewable resources, especially wind and photovoltaic, taking into consideration the effect on rates, reliability, financial resources and the goal of environmental improvement.”

What are the Basic Components of REUs Renewable Portfolio Standard?

• 20% of Retail Sales will be served by Renewable Resources by the year 2017.
• Renewable resources include all solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, and hydro-electric fuel sources.
• Existing renewable energy sources include power deliveries from the Central Valley Project, Whiskeytown Dam, and customer renewable installations.
• Feasibility investigation into all areas of renewable energy.
• Continuation of quarterly reporting of resource mix used to serve customers, including all renewable and non-renewable resources.

Where can I get a Copy of our RPS and who can I Contact to Learn More?

To obtain a copy of Redding Electric Utility’s Renewable Portfolio Standard or learn more about renewable energy, contact Nick Zettel at (530) 339-7309 or nzettel@ci.redding.ca.us.