Welcome to NARUC Rate School!

Course Overview

Program Level: The program is classified as basic and recommended to new personnel working in the regulatory policy community.

Rate School is an affordable, comprehensive, course offering students the fundamentals of utility rate making by working on a “mock” utility rate case.

At the end of this course, the learner will be able to:

1. Understand the basics of utility rate setting.
2. Understand Financial Statements for regulated utility companies.
3. Have the knowledge, skills, and tools that guide regulated utility rate making including choosing the test year for the revenue requirement.
4. Gain an understanding of how rate base is developed.
5. Understand how a mock rate case is developed and the use of sample adjustments.
6. Calculate the rate base, revenue requirement, and learn rate design for a regulated utility.
7. Demonstrate an appropriate knowledge of operating expenses, trackers, depreciation and taxes related to regulated utility rate making.
8. Understand how to review and make adjustments to utility Income Statements.
9. Understand the capital structure of a utility, including the weighted average cost of capital, rate of return, and return on equity.
10. Understand how cost of capital, rate of return and return on equity relate to the revenue requirement and how Wall Street views a company.  
11. Understand the consumer perspective on the regulated utility finance.
12. Understand Cost Allocation methods.
13. Understand the different rate designs for the regulated utility.
14. Learn the Performance Based Ratemaking.

Who Should Attend Rate School?

State Commissioners, Policymakers, Municipal Utility Officials, Commission staffers, Administrative Law Judges, Accountants, Auditors, Financial Analysts, Consumer Advocates, Attorneys, Engineers, Economists, Journalists, Wall Street Analysts or anyone with a need or interest in utility rate making will benefit from this unique program.

The course material for the Spring and Fall Rate Schools are the same.

About Rate School

The Architects of the NARUC Rate School have been the NARUC Committee on Water since its inception in Florida in 1973. The Eastern Rate School was held at various locations in Florida before finding its home in Clearwater Beach, FL. The Western Rate School began in 1980 in Utah and moved to various locations before finding its current home in San Diego.

The NARUC Rate School evolved from the theory that many individuals learn better by performing tasks rather than passively listening to lectures. By actually working on a mock rate case, after detailed learning and discussions on a host of issues, the founders believed a more efficient learning environment would result. From the beginning the philosophy of the schools has been that participants in the rate/regulatory process would get more benefit from differing perspectives on accounting, engineering, legal, and governmental actions, as well as from consumer advocates, commission staffs, and utility company employees. There are limited opportunities to obtain these diverse perspectives.

The number of students permitted to participate in Rate School is limited to allow for personalized attention from the elite volunteer faculty by working with small teams resulting in a meaningful learning experience.

Still have questions and don't see the answer on this website?

Feel free to email rateschool@naruc.org