California Utilities Do Not Meet 2010 Renewable Energy Goal

In 2002, California adopted a Renewable Portfolio Standard which required that 20% of California‘s electricity come from renewable resources by 2010. On top of all of this, in November of 2008, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed California Executive Order S-14-08 which requires “all retail sellers of electricity [to] serve 33 percent of their load with renewable energy by 2025.” According to a recent report by the California Public Utilities Commission, California failed to meet the 20% threshold in 2010.

Despite this, Pacific Gas & Electric Co and Southern California Edison were the closest to meeting the goal. PG&E generated 17.7% of the electricity it sold in 2010 from renewable sources (such as solar power systems); SCE was the closest to hitting the RPS goal by producing 19.4% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2010.

San Diego Gas & Electric, on the other hand, generated only 11.9% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2010. California law requires utilities to reach the 20 percent threshold by 2010, but it also allows for companies that miss the quota to make up for it over the next three years by overshooting the 20 percent goal by the same amount they missed it by in the years prior.