Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
A US federal regulatory body for the nation's energy industry has green-lighted Google for buying and selling electricity in wholesale quantities. Google recently registered a subsidiary utility company titled Google Energy.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Committee has granted Google Energy authority to sell power at market rates on Thursday. According to earlier reports, a spokeswoman said the internet search company registered the utility to be able "to buy and sell electricity in case it becomes part of our portfolio."
Such ability would allow the company to off-set its carbon emissions by purchasing energy generated by renewable sources. This would be one of the ways Google has been working toward a zero-emission status, others including data center energy efficiency and investment into renewable energy projects.
In its application for rate authority with the FERC, Google Energy said it was formed "to identify and develop opportunities to contain and manage the cost of energy for Google. Google Energy states that it intends to act as a power marketer, purchasing electricity and reselling it to wholesale customers."
Google also told FERC that it did not own or control any generation or transmission facilities for wholesale electricity and did not have "a franchised service area for the sale of electricity to captive customers."
The California Public Utilities Commission, a government agency regulating utilities in the state, attempted to intervene with issuance of FERC authorization to Google Energy. FERC order did not specify PUC's reasons and the state agency's spokesperson did not return a phone call seeking comment in time for publication.
While granting PUC permission to file its notice of intervention outside of the federal agency's deadline for such actions (the state agency filed its motion to intervene after the deadline), FERC granted Google Energy the market rate authorization.