The California Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) program was established in 2002 by Senate Bill (SB) 1078 (Sher, 2002) with the initial requirement that 20 percent of electricity retail sales must be served by renewable resources by 2017. The program was accelerated in 2006 under SB 107 (Simitian, 2006) which required that the 20 percent mandate be met by 2010. In April 2011, SB 2 (1X) (Simitian, 2011) codified achievement of the 33 percent RPS requirement by 2020. In 2015, Governor Brown signed into law SB 350 (de León, 2015), which mandated a 50 percent RPS by December 31, 2030. SB 350 also includes interim annual RPS targets with three-year compliance periods. In addition, SB 350 requires that 65 percent of RPS procurement must be derived from long-term contracts of 10 or more years. In 2018, SB 100 (de León, 2018) increased the RPS to 60 percent by 2030 and established a goal for 100 percent of the State’s electricity to come from renewable and carbon-free resources by 2045.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the California Energy Commission (CEC) jointly implement the RPS program. The CPUC's responsibilities include:

1. Determining annual procurement targets and enforcing compliance with the RPS program.
2. Reviewing and approving each electric load serving entity's annual renewable energy procurement plan.
3. Reviewing and approving IOU contracts for RPS-eligible energy.
4. Establishing the standard terms and conditions used by IOUs in their contracts for eligible renewable energy.

For more information about the CPUC’s role in implementing the RPS program, please visit the CPUC RPS website. For the most recent CPUC Annual RPS Report to the Legislature, please see the CPUC’s RPS Reports and Data website. A description of the CEC’s role can be found on the CEC RPS website. For information about the renewable energy credit tracking system, visit the WREGIS website.