Energy and Environment Guide to Action - Chapter 7: Electric Utility Policies
This document is 'Chapter 7.0: Electric Utility Policies' of the Energy and Environment Guide to Action. States are adopting new or modifying existing utility policies in order to enable greater investment in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and combined heat and power (CHP). State public utility commissions (PUCs) are aligning electricity resource planning and ratemaking processes to encourage utlities to fully incorporate these resource options into their infrastructure investment and operational decisions. PUCs are also modifying customer electricity rates and interconnection standards to support greater investment by families and businesses in energy efficiency, distributed renewable energy, and CHP. States are also providing policy direction to ensure that new electric grid investments are made and deployed in a manner that maximizes energy efficiency and renewable energy.
This chapter focuses on the authorities that state legislatures have granted to PUCs to regulate electricity rates and reliability, as these authorities directly affect utilities' and customers' investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and CHP. Other state agencies, such as air offices, energy offices, and consumer advocates, can work with their PUCs to provide collaborative input and/or formally intervene during policy design and implementation. Some of the policies in this chapter could also apply to municipally and cooperatively owned utilities—which are not subject to PUC regulation in most states—to the extent that states, elected officials, and local boards can direct or encourage these utilities to take action.
Learn more about electric utility policies in Chapter 7. See the full Energy and Environment Guide to Action.