Is Your REC Registry Ready for Hourly Matching?

When a stakeholder asks how your company’s renewable energy claims were constructed, the answer often depends entirely on what your registry can actually prove. Scrutiny is increasing: the GHG Protocol is proposing hourly matching requirements, SBTi V2.0 has raised the bar for large electricity users, and for the 440+ companies with RE100 commitments, EAC cancellation from official registries is already required starting with the 2027 CDP reporting cycle. The question is no longer whether your organization is buying RECs, but whether the evidence behind those claims will hold up. The GHG Protocol is undergoing its first major Scope 2 revision in more than a decade, proposing a shift from annual to hourly matching of renewable energy certificates. For the 400+ companies with RE100 commitments, one deadline is already confirmed: EAC cancellation from official registries is required starting with the 2027 CDP reporting cycle. The window to act is now.

“We support hourly matching” is no longer a sufficient statement for a registry. The term now describes a range of approaches that perform very differently under scrutiny. Some registries embed hourly identity natively into each certificate at issuance, with a direct link to the underlying meter data. Others reconstruct it outside the certificate, introducing integrity gaps that compound when a claim needs to be defended.

The critical question is not simply whether hourly data exists, but whether the identity of each certificate is established at issuance and preserved through transfer and retirement. A claim is only as credible as the chain of evidence behind it.

This guide walks through what the GHG Protocol revision proposes, how SBTi V2.0 is raising the bar for large electricity users, and the three questions to ask your registry today — before the requirement becomes final and before you need the answer under pressure.