The Expanding Universe of Utility Regulation

Whether you missed the original broadcast of this teleseminar or you attended and just want to listen to the presentation again, order the CD of this event. Use it for yourself, or better yet, set up a training session for other members of your staff at a time that’s most convenient for you. State utility commissions and NASUCA members pay only a shipping and handling fee of $15. You can expect your CD about 10 days after you place your order.

The Expanding Universe of Utility Regulation:
“Public Interest” and the Elements of Authority

Originally air date: February 25, 2010

Distinguished Panel:

Robert Stumberg, Director, Harrison Institute for Public Law
Eric Filipink, Policy Analyst, Harrison Institute for Public Law
Betty Ann Kane, Chair, District of Columbia Public Service Commission
Heather Starnes, Manager of Regulatory Policy, Southwest Power Pool
Scott Hempling (Moderator), Executive Director, NRRI

For much of the twentieth century, utility regulators focused on setting rates and establishing standards of service. But no longer.

Today, statutes mandate that regulators must also consider how to protect the interests of the public when developing new policies. As regulation expands to cover the environmental and economic needs of the public, how are utility companies responding?

Find out how the public interest is changing the dynamic between regulators and utilities and what the long-term impact will be on utility regulation when you purchase a recording of the February 25, 2010 NRRI teleseminar “The Expanding Universe of Utility Regulation: ‘Public Interest’ and the Elements of Authority.”

Regulators like the flexibility of public interest regulation because it’s easier to respond to shifting conditions such as climate change, rising energy costs, new technologies, product diversity, and more. But this increased regulation can be unsettling to utilities, making them more likely to challenge the boundaries of regulators’ authority in court.

Courts rarely decide these cases by defining what is and isn’t in the public interest. Instead, they analyze the elements of authority—the goals, roles, and criteria for making regulatory decisions. This teleseminar will help you better understand what those elements are and what impact court decisions could have on future public interest regulation.

Here’s just some of what you’ll learn during this intensive 90-minute session:

• How to define the elements of authority and how they are affected by the expanding scope of the “public interest.”
• How to predict the likelihood of litigation that challenges regulatory authority.
• Litigation trends when public interest goals and regulators’ roles are either traditional or expansive.
• How to analyze gaps in delegated authority on three levels: Public interest goals, regulatory roles, and decisionmaking criteria.
• What latitude the courts have to intervene when statutes are silent on how to balance complex or competing criteria for making decisions.
• How to use insight into delegation gaps to
  • Predict and respond to the legal arguments that utilities are likely to make in court.
  • Write commission rules that minimize the risk of litigation.
  • Identify opportunities to work with the legislature to clarify accountability and minimize the risk of litigation.
• How to better cope with the burden of work that accompanies the ever-expanding scope of the public interest.

Hear what the experts have to say on the subject when you purchase the CD of NRRI’s teleseminar “The Expanding Universe of Utility Regulation: ‘Public Interest’ and the Elements of Authority,” originally broadcast on February 25, 2010.

Order “The Expanding Universe of Utility Regulation” teleseminar CD today!