California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a new bill into law Tuesday that will require private and public utilities to get 33% of their electricity from renewable energy resources by 2020, up from the current target of 20%.
Senate Bill 2X applies to all electricity retailers in the state, whether they be investor-owned utilities, municipal utilities, or independent sellers. The current 20% standard applies only to investor-owned utilities and independent sellers.
Only some municipal utilities have hit renewable energy goals. The California Public Utilities Commission expects IOUs to provide 21% of their electricity from renewables in 2011.
The bill does not require utilities to reach the energy goals at any costs. The PUC may grant exemptions if the price of energy or moving into the state’s grid make the cost excessive.
