On Friday, April 3, the Bioenergy Association of California (BAC), in partnership with the Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC), commenced legal proceedings to address the premature termination of the Bioenergy Market Adjusting Tariff (BioMAT) program by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).
For the past decade, BioMAT has supported sustainable bioenergy production by requiring the major investor-owned utilities to procure electrical power from small-scale bioenergy projects that convert organic waste, such as forest and agricultural waste, into renewable electricity while delivering public health and safety benefits, including wildfire risk reduction and reliable power during periods when solar and wind resources are unavailable.
State law expressly requires these bioenergy procurement efforts to continue until “at least 250 megawatts” of bioenergy have been purchased. While this goal has not yet been met, the CPUC nonetheless ended the BioMAT program on December 31, while refusing to take timely action on BAC’s formal petition to extend the program in compliance with state law. CPUC Commissioners postponed a public vote on this petition five times before removing the matter from their agenda indefinitely.
CPUC’s failure to issue a final decision formally terminating the BioMAT program deprives Californians of accountability and prevents BAC from seeking judicial review of the termination of bioenergy procurement efforts before the 250-megawatt requirement has been met.
Through this appeal, BAC is asking the court to order the CPUC to issue a final decision on its petition to extend BioMAT within 30 days.
See the press release HERE. For additional information, please contact RCRC Senior Policy Advocate, John Kennedy.