Skip to main content

External forces have always prompted regulatory change in the US electric power sector. In “Risky Business: New Trends in North American Regulation,” NERA Senior Consultant Dr. Laura T.W. Olive and former Consultant Max N. Luke examine how a new wave of regulatory action, prompted by recent technological advances and concerns about climate change, seeks to update electricity markets and utility business practices, revealing unfinished business in North American utility regulation. In pursuit of new policy objectives, several states exhibit a renewed interest in performance-based regulation. Simultaneously, other states seek to limit competitive retail markets due to perceived harm to small customers from exposure to price risk. These trends present new risks and opportunities for utilities. Recent regulatory activity in the US electric utility sector reflects the industry response to new external forces on the electric grid.