Registration for the Nov 14th GHG auction can take several weeks – have you registered? If not here is what you need to do.
On November 14, 2012, the GHG allowance auction will offer year 2013 current vintage GHG allowances and year 2015 future vintage GHG allowances for sale. The auction is scheduled to take place from 10:00 AM Pacific Time (PT) until 1:00 PM PT.
What needs to be done:
Entities which fall within the applicability of the Air Resources Board GHG Cap and Trade regulations must take action to start the user registration and application process to set up an account. The Compliance Instrument Tracking System Service (CITSS) was released for GHG Cap-and-Trade User Registration and Compliance Instrument Account Application activities in July 2012. However, many entities have not yet initiated the registration and application processes, even though this can take several weeks.
Who needs to register with CITSS:
Entities that are required to consign allowances to the November Auction and covered industrial entities eligible for free allocation of allowances in November 2012 must have an account in the CITSS to consign or receive allowances. Additionally, entities and individuals that intend to participate in the November 2012 auction must have an approved account in the CITSS prior to completing the separate Auction application which will be available from September 14th through October 15th.
How to register:
Establishing accounts in the CITSS at https://www.wci-citss.org is a multi-step process. Each entity must complete the following steps:
- Two representatives must complete the online user registration for data entry in the CITSS.
- Both representatives must complete and submit required hard copy documentation required for user registration.
- Both representatives must receive user registration approval from the California Registrar.
- The entity must complete account application data entry in the CITSS to establish an entity account.
- The entity must complete and submit account application forms and hard copy documentation.
- Receive approval of the account application from the California Registrar.
Information on how to submit the hard copy documentation can be found at http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/capandtrade/markettrackingsystem/markettrackingsystem.htm.
Special rules apply to all entities with direct corporate associations to other entities that have or will establish accounts in the CITSS. For more information see
http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/capandtrade/markettrackingsystem/markettrackingsystem.htm.
To support California’s program implementation, the CITSS is being released in phases. User registration and account application functions are now available in Release 1. Additional CITSS functions such as allowance issuance and transfer are expected to be in Release 2 available in October 2012.
Watch out for September 20th:
ARB has chosen to provide some allowances to certain covered entities for free. There have been initiatives arguing that this share should be increased, even considering allocating 100% of available allowances for free, to protect California Jobs and Businesses from the costs of cap-and-trade.
On September 20, the CARB board will consider giving California businesses some higher degree of protection. By increasing the number of free allowances distributed to energy-intensive businesses like refiners, food processors and other industries regulated by the new cap and trade program, CARB could reduce the cost of the cap-and-trade program on California’s businesses, protecting the state’s economy. Watch out for the results of the ARB board meeting on September 20th.
Additional information:
CITSS Training materials and information on the webinars:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/capandtrade/markettrackingsystem/markettrackingsystem.htm
ARB CITSS Help Desk: CACITSSHelpDesk@arb.ca.gov; (916)324-7659
Auction Notice: http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/capandtrade/auction/auction.htm.
Questions regarding the bidding process can be sent directly to the Auction Administrator Support Team at auctionsupport@markit.com.
All other questions regarding the California GHG Cap-and-Trade Program contact ARB at (916) 322-2037.
More information on the Cap-and-Trade Program: http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/capandtrade/capandtrade.htm
