October 29, 30, 31 2:00 PM ET – 4:00 PM ET Each Day
This 6-hour course taught live, online once again this year by Mark Newton Lowry (President, Pacific Economics Group) will explore various approaches to performance-based ratemaking (“PBR”). This year’s course will emphasize how PBR can aid the energy transition, using examples from jurisdictions on the “front lines” of the transition. PBR can strengthen utility incentives to contain cost, maintain or improve reliability, and achieve societal goals. Some PBR approaches make ratemaking more efficient so that more time is available to address complicated generic issues such as rate designs and multiyear investment plans. The course will explain four established approaches to PBR: (1) Relaxation of the link between revenue and grid use (e.g. revenue decoupling); (2) Performance metrics and incentive mechanisms (“PIMs”); (3) Targeted incentives for underused practices (e.g. pilot programs and management fees); and (4) Multiyear rate plans. PBR will be compared to salient alternatives such as frequent rate cases and formula rates that are known to weaken utility performance incentives. Course upgrades have been funded by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Register
Fees: $200 full NARUC Members; $400 all others