Understanding and Participating in Regulation
Branko Terzic is a managing director at Berkeley Research Group, and a nonresident senior fellow of Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center. He served as a commissioner at FERC and on the Wisconsin Public Service Commission. He also served as CEO of Yankee Energy System, Inc.
Let's admit it. Public utility regulation is complex, confusing and slow to adapt. Its results are also sometimes counter-intuitive. Frequently, when it comes to regulation, understanding how a regulatory decision evolved may be as important as what it is today. Thus, experience counts.
Today, with more and more business enterprises depending on the electric grid, knowing about regulation is as important to those dealing with the electric industry, as it is for those companies directly regulated by the state public service commissions and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
For this reason, many businesses now need to address regulation directly to either advance proposals and policies in support of their business strategies and plans, or to oppose those proposals or policies which are detrimental to their business interests. Here's some insight on how difficult it is to advance or oppose a policy.
Let's ask the questions: What policy or proposal would have the best chance of being adopted by a regulator?
In order of likelihood of approval, I would offer the following observations: