Public utility commissions (PUCs) across the country are facing the challenges of an evolving regulatory landscape as consumer needs, new technologies, and policy goals increasingly lead to changes in traditional utility and regulatory practices. Emerging stakeholder engagement processes are a key tool for informed decision-making in this landscape and can help achieve win-win outcomes in the public interest.
State Energy Justice Roundtable Series: Participation in Decision Making, February 2023
In April 2022, NARUC, the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), and National Governors Association (NGA) hosted a State Energy Justice Roundtable. This paper is one of five authored by the host organizations on topics that were the focus of the Roundtable. Written by NARUC, this paper includes a background on energy justice. It also outlines the role of participation in decision making in energy justice along with frameworks for communities and public utility commissions to take action to support energy justice progress.
State Approaches to Intervenor Compensation, December 2021
Intervenor compensation is the practice of reimbursing individuals or groups for the costs of their involvement in state utility regulatory proceedings. These groups advocate for views and issues that may otherwise not be introduced into the proceeding by the utility, large customers, state utility consumer advocates, attorneys general offices, or others. Programs have been developed in several states to encourage participation at all stages of proceedings before the state Commissions where the costs to intervene would otherwise create a financial hardship. This paper reviews the states with legislative authorization for intervenor compensation, the states with active intervenor compensation programs, and provides insights on program implementation through several case studies.
Public Utility Commission Stakeholder Engagement: A Decision-Making Framework, January 2021
This report summarizes emerging stakeholder engagement strategies used by public utility commissions, as traditional utility and regulatory practices change with evolving customer needs, new technologies and shifting policy goals. The whitepaper offers commissions a framework to evaluate decision points as they design stakeholder processes by providing key questions, emerging best practices, and related resources informed by other commissions’ experiences.
State Energy Justice Roundtable, April 2022
NARUC, the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), and National Governors Association (NGA) hosted a State Energy Justice Roundtable in April 2022. Participants included federal and state decision-makers, members of community-based organizations, and subject-matter experts. The Roundtable members explored current state efforts to articulate and incorporate energy justice concerns into energy-related decision-making. Participants established connections with one another to better understand the current landscape of existing resources, learn about emerging efforts, and identify ongoing support opportunities for advancing energy justice.
Stakeholder Engagement Framework webinar, September 2021
As the power grid evolves and states set new goals for clean energy, equity, resilience, and other objectives relating to energy infrastructure, public utility commissions (PUCs) across the country are increasingly faced with making decisions that are complex, broad in impact, and intersectional across an array of issues. In this challenging decision-making environment, some PUCs are embarking on stakeholder engagement processes that not only prioritize affordable, safe, and reliable utility services, but also consider these newer and more expansive policy objectives. These emerging processes have the potential to enable more informed decision-making by creating inclusive forums for stakeholder participation, but they must be well-designed to achieve intended outcomes. This webinar explored approaches PUCs can take to create robust and inclusive stakeholder processes by addressing key decision points for commissions to consider in planning stakeholder engagement processes, lessons learned and best practices for stakeholder engagement, and principles for participatory justice at PUCs.
Moderator: Chair Megan Decker, Oregon Public Utilities Commission
Speakers:
NARUC staff experts who support these activities include: