Hourly Clean Energy Utility Product Designs

CRS’s Clean Energy Accounting Project (CEAP)’s Hourly Clean Energy Utility Product Designs: Nine Product Model Examples helps vertically integrated utilities in the United States design credible, customer-focused hourly clean electricity products. The guidance includes nine of the most practical Product Model options organized by complexity and risk to the utility, equipping utilities to offer a range of products best suited to local resources and customer needs.

The Product Model Matrix included in the guidance outlines nine distinct product models, ranging from the least complex and lowest delivery risk option to the most complex, highest delivery risk option. It is designed to be both flexible and implementable, such that utilities can start with lower-risk, lower-complexity products before offering higher-risk, higher-complexity products as markets mature, data quality increases, and customer demand grows.

All hourly products must be accompanied by clear marketing language, transparent disclosures, and third-party verification. By doing so, utilities can maintain customer trust and meet growing demand for hourly clean energy products credibly.

Electricity providers are exploring product options to meet increasing demand for “hourly matched” carbon-free energy (CFE), in which CFE generation is matched to customer load in each hour. This background report summarizes current hourly product offerings; previous initiatives to facilitate or provide guidance, tools, or standards related to hourly CFE procurement; outcomes from previous technical assistance projects done with Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) related to hourly procurement, sales, or accounting; as well as relevant research. The goal is to inform working group sessions for the Hourly Utility Product Design CEAP initiative and subsequent guidance.