Board of Directors approves WECC as the institutional home for the WREGIS Program

We are pleased to announce that the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) has agreed to be the institutional home for the Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System (WREGIS).  Drawing on extensive stakeholder input, the Western Governors’ Association (WGA) and the California Energy Commission (Energy Commission) submitted a joint proposal in July 2004 to the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) Board of Directors requesting that WECC house WREGIS.  At the July 29, 2004 WECC Board of Directors meeting, the board passed a resolution approving WECC as the institutional home for the WREGIS program by a vote of 25 to 1.

This is an important milestone.  Stakeholders from around the region have worked diligently over the past ten months to develop a regional consensus on recommendations for the design of operational rules, functional requirements, and the institutional framework for WREGIS.  WECC provides vital services in the West, improving reliability and helping the region meet its electricity goals.  Approval by the WECC board reflects a commitment by the region to establish WREGIS as the single institution in the West responsible for tracking renewable energy generation and issuing renewable energy certificates.

At WECC, the WREGIS program will be self funded through participant fees and staffed by individuals specifically hired to administer and conduct the functions and responsibilities of WREGIS.  The WREGIS program will report to and be governed by a Board Committee established by the WECC Board of Directors.  As outlined in the joint proposal to WECC, the Energy Commission and the WGA will contract with WECC to house WREGIS and WECC will contract with a system operator to operate and maintain WREGIS accounting software and hardware on a day-to-day basis.

This arrangement will be mutually beneficial to the Energy Commission, WGA, WECC and residents in the West.  It addresses the Energy Commission's need to implement an accounting system to verify compliance with the California Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS).  It meets the WGA's goals of creating an infrastructure to verify and track renewable energy resources across the region.  It will further WECC's mission of maintaining a reliable electric power system in the Western Interconnection that supports efficient competitive power markets and its goal of becoming the organization of choice for West-wide electricity information databases.  Finally, it will facilitate and substantiate the marketplace for renewable energy generation, diversifying the generation resource mix and improving air quality.

In the coming months, a Memorandum of Understanding will be drafted between the WECC and WREGIS sponsors, formally establishing responsibilities of each party in the establishment of WREGIS and the terms and conditions for the program’s operation at WECC.

The Resolution and associated background materials can be found at: http://www.wecc.biz/committees/BOD/meetings/Agenda_background_material/July_2004/WREGIS_Agenda_Item_VII.pdf.