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Large New York CCA To Offer REC-Only Program; Dept. Of Public Service Advises On Marketing, ESCO Concern
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Sustainable Westchester, Inc., in conjunction with ProjectEconomics, Inc. d/b/a PowerMarket (the "entities"), intend to offer a voluntary REC-only (no energy supply) product to residential and non-residential customers in New York on an opt-in basis, called Green My Power
Green My Power would not result in the change of a customer's electric supplier. Green My Power would also not change utility billing or rate structure, would not affect physical delivery of electricity, and would not enroll a customer in any aggregation or distributed generation program.
RECs used for Green My Power would be, "sourced from renewable generation facilities and retired in national tracking systems," and would be part of the "national voluntary REC market," the entities said
Green My Power would offer two service types
The standard service would offer blocks of RECs at a monthly rate
For residential customers, presentations shared with municipalities indicate that several standard REC tiers would be offered, directing a customer at enrollment to select a tier based on their dwelling size (apartment, home, large home, etc), with pricing at tiers such as $4/month (apartment), $6/month (typical home), and $12/month (large home). Pricing for larger users, including non-residential customers, would be customized
Green My Power would also offer an option for the number of RECs purchased by the customer to be linked to the customer's actual usage. This usage-aligned product, "operates under express customer authorization," the entities said
The entities said that the Green My Power program does not fall within any PSC-regulated category because the program does not involve any of the elements that define retail electricity service or related regulated activities.
In particular, the entities said that Green My Power is not subject to the PSC's renewable energy rules applicable to ESCOs (including sourcing limitations for RECs), since no supply is being sold, and the customer's load serving entity is not changing under the REC-only Green My Power program
The PSC's green rules for ESCOs, the entities said, "are predicated on an ESCO's status as a load-serving entity selling retail electricity under the Commission's Uniform Business Practices."
The entities stressed that, "Green My Power does not sell retail electricity, does not enroll customers in supply service, and does not operate as a load-serving entity. Green My Power subscribers retain their existing electricity supply arrangements and receive Green My Power as an independent voluntary certificate subscription separate from any retail electric product."
The entities set forth the design of Green My Power and the entities' belief concerning the lack of PSC jurisdiction in a letter to the PSC
The Dept. of Public Service's Chief of Staff and Director of Policy Implementation ("DPS Staff") replied via letter to the entities, "to communicate some parameters under which such a program
should be offered".
DPS Staff said in the letter that, "While there is no general prohibition on nationally-sourced RECs in New
York, the Commission has prohibited entities from utilizing such RECs to satisfy compliance
with the State’s Clean Energy Standard (CES), as well as to back voluntary renewable energy
product offerings to customers."
DPS Staff expressed a concern about stakeholders conflating Green My Power's national RECs with New York-compliant RECs which are required for various ESCO compliance purposes, such as compliance with the state's clean energy standard and compliance with rules which limit which RECs may be used to support ESCOs' voluntary renewable supply offerings in New York
DPS Staff seeks to, "avoid a scenario where one or more LSEs purchase RECs under the Green My
Power program with the expectation that such RECs can be used to satisfy CES [clean energy standard] compliance
obligations, or back renewable energy product offerings, only to find out at the end of the CES
compliance year that such RECs cannot be used for those purposes."
DPS Staff said, "If offering Nationally-sourced RECs,
Sustainable Westchester, Inc. and ProjectEconomics, Inc. d/b/a PowerMarket should include an
express notice to potential customers in any marketing related to the Green My Power program
that the RECs provided cannot be used to satisfy compliance obligations under the CES, nor can
they be used to offset a customer’s usage as part of a renewable energy product offering."
DPS Staff also expressed concern with the Green My Power brand name, given the use of national RECs
DPS Staff said, "[T]he Commission, in its December 12, 2019 Order Adopting Changes to the Retail
Access Energy Market and Establishing Further Process, sought to protect consumers from
deceptive marketing practices associated with the provision of renewable energy, and the Green
My Power program, by its title alone, presents itself as 'greening' a consumer's electricity
supply. This potential for confusion warrants mindful marketing that explicitly identifies the
limitation of nationally-sourced RECs in relation to compliance with clean energy requirements
in New York. Failure to comply with Commission rules and regulations related to the provision
of renewable energy products may result in potential enforcement actions."
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July 23, 2026
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Copyright 2026 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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