M-RETS Fees

Subscription Fees: Subscriber shall pay an Annual Subscription Fee, payable at the time that it registers in the Registry and in the month of registration of each subsequent calendar year. The Subscription Fee will be based upon the type of organization subscribed.

If a subscriber fails to pay their annual Subscription Fee within ninety days (90) of issuance, M-RETS shall close the Organizations access to the System. A User that wishes to reactivate an Organization that is closed due to failure to pay shall be required to pay the full annual Subscription Fee as well as an additional reactivation fee equal to 65% of the current Subscription Fee applicable to the closed Organization. A voluntary inactivation does not accrue a reactivation fee.

M-RETS maintains a uniform and transparent fee schedule. M-RETS does not discount fees unless specifically noted on this schedule.
Renewable Electricity
Renewable Thermal
Renewable Electricity

Small Generator Project Subscription: $150/year

A Small Generator Project is permitted to register Energy Attribute Certificates (EAC) projects with a cumulative nameplate capacity not exceeding 1.5 MW and can have certificates issued for those projects. The organization is authorized to hold, reserve, and retire (voluntary) certificates, as well as initiate outgoing transfers. However, it is restricted from accepting incoming transfers of certificates from other M-RETS Organizations.

 

Project Subscription: $750/year

The Project Subscription is eligible to register EAC projects and obtain certificates for those initiatives. The Organization is allowed to hold, reserve, and retire (voluntary) certificates, as well as initiate outgoing transfers. It is, however, prohibited from accepting incoming certificate transfers from other organizations.

 

General Subscription: $2,500/year

The General Subscription is authorized to hold, transfer (both outgoing and incoming), and retire credits. Additionally, it can register and manage projects, receiving credits for approved generation. Uniquely, this is the only type of organization that can retire certificates to meet compliance requirements for any State or Provincial RPS programs that utilize M-RETS.

 

Qualified Reporting Entity (QRE): No Fee

A Qualified Reporting Entity can either be an independent entity responsible for meter reading and reporting generation data or an affiliated entity with adequate internal separation to prevent conflicts of interest. They are required to adhere to the reporting standards established in the Operating Procedures. Please reach out to [email protected] before registering this Subscription Type

 

Program Administrator/Government Regulator: No Fee

State or Provincial regulatory bodies, such as staff from public utility commissions and public service commissions, as well as administrators of voluntary market programs like Green-e, may be eligible for a Program Administrator Subscription. To determine your eligibility for this type of account, please reach out to the M-RETS System Administrator at [email protected].

 

Market Administrator:

The Market Administrator Subscription is intended for organizations that facilitate the marketing, sale, and exchange of EACs within M-RETS organizations through a market platform that lists EAC inventories via the M-RETS API. To qualify as a Market Administrator, an organization must have its Participant Terms of Use approved by M-RETS and make these terms accessible for participant review at all times. Please reach out to [email protected] before registering this Subscription Type.

Volumetric & Transaction Fees:

Effective 1/1/2024

Issuance Fee

An organization shall pay a per-REC Issuance Fee for up to the first one million one hundred thousand (1,100,000) RECs issued in the Registry each calendar year by a given generator registered in its organization. This cap does not apply to backloaded generation or to Alternative Energy Certificates (AEC). Effective 01/01/2024, the Issuance Fee Cap will be increased to three million RECs issued.  

$0.010/REC issued

 

Compliance Retirement Fee

An organization shall pay a Retirement Fee for each REC retired in the Registry.

$0.020/REC retired

 

Voluntary Retirement Fee

An organization shall pay a Retirement Fee for each REC retired in the Registry for a Green Pricing Program, Green-e Energy Certified Voluntary Market Sale, Beneficial Ownership, or any other Voluntary market reason.

$0.020/REC retired

 

Hourly Retirement Fee

An organization shall pay a Retirement Fee for each REC retired in the Registry for hourly claims.

$0.020/REC retired

 

Reserve Fee

An organization shall pay a fee to Reserve a Certificate that was originally issued in the M-RETS system but needs to be used outside the M-RETS platform.

$0.020/REC reserved

 

Import/Export Fee

Imports from other registries to M-RETS: $0.010/REC. 

Exports from M-RETS to other registries: $0.020/REC.

Renewable Thermal

Generator Registration Fee: $1,500/one-time fee

(may be waived if and only if certain conditions are met)

Every Generator shall be required to pay a $1,500 one-time registration fee. This fee accounts for the cost of verifying the registration information prior to certificate issuance. However, Generators that register and use an Independent Reporting Entity for the full first year of generation information may have this fee waived if the Independent Reporting Entity verifies through a signed legal attestation that all of the information submitted through the registration process is true and correct.

 

Subscription Fees: 

Generator Only Subscription: No Annual Subscription Fee

Organizations under this category are authorized to register one or multiple renewable thermal generators and will receive Energy Attribute Certificates (EAC) issued for these generators. A Generator-Only Subscription is permitted to hold certificates, initiate outgoing transfers, and withdraw certificates, specifically for use in external regulatory programs like the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard or the United States Environmental Protection Agency Renewable Fuel Standard. Although there are no annual fees for Generator-Only Accounts, transaction-based fees may be applied for the withdrawal of certificates.

 

General Subscription: $2,500/year

The General Subscription is authorized to hold, transfer (both outgoing and incoming), and retire Energy Attribute Certificates (EAC). Additionally, it can register and manage projects, receiving certificates for approved generation. Organizations that are utilizing M-RETS to retire certificates to meet compliance requirements for any State or Provincial RPS programs that utilize M-RETS must use this subscription type.

 

Independent Reporting Entity (IRE): No Fee

An Independent Reporting Entity (IRE) serves as a neutral party, such as a control area operator or third-party meter reader, and is not linked to the generator owners it represents, or is sufficiently independent in duty segregation to ensure no conflict of interest. IREs must sign an agreement with M-RETS, committing to precise data reporting and IRE Verification process per the Operating Procedures. This role is critical to upholding the integrity of certificate issuance and tracking. Please reach out to [email protected] before registering this Subscription Type. 

 

Program Administrator/Government Regulator: No Fee

State or Provincial regulatory bodies, such as staff from public utility commissions and public service commissions, as well as administrators of voluntary market programs like Green-e, may be eligible for a Program Administrator Subscription. To determine your eligibility for this type of account, please reach out to the M-RETS System Administrator at [email protected].

 

Market Administrator

The Market Administrator Subscription is intended for organizations that facilitate the marketing, sale, and exchange of EACs within M-RETS organizations through a market platform that lists EAC inventories via the M-RETS API. To qualify as a Market Administrator, an organization must have its Participant Terms of Use approved by M-RETS and make these terms accessible for participant review at all times. Please reach out to [email protected] before registering this Subscription Type. 

 

Volumetric & Transaction Fees

Issuance Fee: No Fee

 

Compliance Retirement Fee:

An organization shall pay a Retirement Fee for each RTC retired in the Registry recognized under the Compliance Retirement type.

$0.10/RTC retired

 

Voluntary Retirement Fee:

An organization shall pay a Retirement Fee for each RTC retired in the Registry for any retirement recognized under the Voluntary Retirement type.

$0.075/RTC retired

 

Certificate Reserved:

An organization shall pay a fee to Reserve a Certificate that was originally issued in the M-RETS system but needs to be used outside of the M-RETS platform.

$0.01/RTC reserved

 

1 RTC = 1 Dekatherm (dth)