Energy Independence Act Renewable Load Targets.?

Approved by voters in 2006, the Energy Independence Act, also known as Initiative 937 (I-937), requires electric utilities with 25,000 or more customers to meet targets for energy conservation and using eligible renewable resources. ?Utilities that must comply with I-937 are called qualifying utilities.?
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Each qualifying utility must use eligible renewable resources or acquire equivalent renewable energy credits, or a combination of both, to meet annual targets, based on load. ?Load is the amount of kilowatt-hours of electricity delivered in the most recent year by the utility to its customers. ?The targets for renewable resources or renewable energy credits are:

• at least 3 percent of its load by January 1, 2012, and each year thereafter through December 31, 2015;
• at least 9 percent of its load by January 1, 2016, and each year thereafter through December 31, 2019; and
• at least 15 percent of its load by January 1, 2020, and each year thereafter.

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To comply with these targets, a qualifying utility may not count:

• eligible renewable resources or distributed generation where the associated renewable energy credits are owned by a separate entity; or
• eligible renewable resources or renewable energy credits obtained for and used in an optional pricing program such as a utility's voluntary program to purchase qualified alternative energy resources.

Calculating Load for Energy Independence Act Targets. ?

A qualifying utility's load does not include kilowatt-hours delivered to the utility's system from a retail electric customer's voluntary purchase of an eligible renewable energy resource. ?A retail electric customer's voluntary renewable energy purchase is either a direct purchase of eligible renewable resources or participation in a utility renewable resources program where the utility purchases the renewable resource megawatt-hours for the utility's system and retires the associated renewable energy credits on behalf of the customer.