For certifying entities spending less than $1000 total on EACs, regional matching is strongly encouraged, but not required. Regional matching typically helps ensure that new renewable electricity or low-carbon fuels are being added to the grid where the entity consumes power. However, in cases where consumption is very low, the transaction fees to purchase very low volumes of market-based instruments (e.g. 1 REC) can outweigh the impact of the instrument purchased.
For this reason, companies may consolidate purchases into a single grid region to minimize transaction costs and financial benefit to the renewable energy projects. They should purchase EACs from the grid region with the highest carbon intensity in which they operate.