1-Click Energy: Managing Corporate Demand for Clean Power

Gina S. Warren

Globally, more private businesses, especially Fortune 100 companies are generating their own electricity, investing in renewable energy facilities, and voluntarily purchasing renewable energy credits to cover their carbon footprints. This shift could have a significant impact on the existing energy delivery system. On the one hand, this shift shows positive momentum toward the incorporation of clean energy into a fossil fuel dominated grid. As the negative impacts of climate change accelerate around the globe, decreasing reliance on fossil fuels is certainly an important goal. On the other hand, corporate disruption of what has historically been a highly regulated public service industry could result in a slippery slope of market power and loosened consumer protections, lost profits and stranded costs for utilities, and increased utility bills for the remaining customers. This Article recommends changes to the current regulatory scheme that would (1) go further to protect customers from multinational corporate wholesale sellers of electricity and (2) allow utilities to plan and collaborate earlier with large corporate customers to meet their clean energy demands.