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Whatever happened to ‘green energy’ law
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Posted on Apr 01 2008
Saipan lawmakers are pushing to get a report from the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. regarding CUC’s progress in implementing the renewable energy requirements set by recent law.
The Public Utilities, Transportation and Communications Committee of the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation wants to know the status of the net energy metering requirements that CUC is mandated to implement under Public Law 15-23.
The committee has also sought an update on CUC’s efforts to meet the renewable energy portfolio goal of 10 percent by Dec. 31, 2008, as required by Public Law 15-87.
Furthermore, CUC was asked to report on the extent to which the utility has undertaken any planning “to improve energy efficiency, affordability and reliability” in the CNMI.
Rep. Tina Sablan, chairwoman of the SNILD-PUTC Committee, said the information request is part of the panel’s effort to develop a long-term energy plan for Saipan and the Northern Islands.
She also invited CUC to appoint a representative to attend the committee’s regular energy planning meetings. The next meeting will take place today, 3:30pm, in the House Speaker’s conference room.
Public Law 15-23 established requirements for the use of renewable energy, a policy for energy efficiency, and standards for clean energy transportation. It set deadlines for each electric utility to gradually increase the amount of alternative energy they produce.
Public Law 15-87 amended the initial green energy law, setting more rigid requirements for local utilities to integrate green energy into their system. P.L. 15-87 requires that renewable energy constitute 80 percent of the power utility’s net sales seven years from now.
Under the latest law, green energy must constitute at least 10 percent of the total energy produced by CUC by the end of 2008. From then on, the standard would double every two years, until it reaches 80 percent in 2014.
