This mechanism for adjusting base rates outside a general rate case enables regulators to fairly address utilities' complaints about the need for frequent rate cases because of rises in the average cost of utility service and avoid outcomes where the test-year approach to ratemaking produces...

Should electric utilities make short-, medium-, or long-term gas purchase commitments? The question has become more relevant as the shale-gas revolution draws attention to the possibility of long-term contracting.

The affordability of electricity and natural gas to all households requires some form of energy assistance, funded by utilities and their customers. Good regulation demands that EA initiatives have favorable benefit-cost ratios. Regulators should strive to assure that each dollar expended...

State commissions have not given adequate attention to the negative features of cost trackers, which are at odds with the public interest. Specifically, cost trackers diminish the positive effects of regulatory lag and retrospective reviews in deterring utility waste and cost inefficiency....

Costs and complexities associated with a centralized planning approach may be too great to justify a strong interventionist approach, in view of scant evidence showing that consumers generally make poor decisions in selecting an energy supplier for specific end uses. Regulators should place the...