Solar-topped carports at Google headquarters in Mountain View, California.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission grants ‘market-based rate authorization’ to Google

Internet search engine and global tech giant, Google Inc., has officially entered the electric utility game, although don’t expect to be writing a monthly check to Google for your electric bill any time soon.

In a unanimous vote the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved a request by Google to buy and sell electricity, granting Google “market based rate authority.” But like many new ventures the Mountain View, California-based tech giant embarks on, they don’t exactly know where they’re going with it, or what they’ll do with their newfound authority. But not knowing where things are heading has never stopped Google before.

The company has no immediate plans to buy or sell electricity, but reportedly made the move to better position itself to manage its own energy and to have more access to renewable energy and smart grid capabilities.

In recent years, Google has made several moves into the energy space, ranging from large-scale clean energy R&D, to Google PowerMeter, their own in-home demand side energy management platform and ReChargeIt a plug-in electric vehicle experiment. The company has also developed one of the largest on-site solar generating facilities in the U.S., including solar panel-topped carports (pictured above.)

Secretary Kimberly D. Bose wrote in the FERC decision (pdf) that because Google does not own or control wholesale electric generation or transmission facilities, nor do they have a franchised service area for the sale of electricity to “captive customers”, there was no real reason to block the request.

Because they have no immediate plans to sell electricity, Google requested waivers that would normally be required of most regulated utilities including those covering cost-of-service information, as well as other accounting and periodic reporting requirements.

Google has 30 days to file the necessary forms with FERC to complete the waiver request.

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