Regulatory Training Initiative
What is the Regulatory Training Initiative?
NARUC's Regulatory Training Initiative (RTI) provides live online and pre-recorded training courses to regulators, commission staff, and stakeholders to increase their knowledge of regulatory issues and processes. The courses focus on the principles of regulation, as well the key skills required to participate in regulatory proceedings, including regulatory accounting and finance, cost-benefit analysis, and the fundamentals of utility law. The curriculum also includes emerging issues and policies in utility regulation, and introductions to new and emerging technologies and requirements affecting electricity, water, gas, and telecommunications. Courses range in length from 6 hours to 18 hours and are accessed remotely via Zoom. Students are encouraged to ask questions and propose new subjects and instructors to help the initiative grow and expand.
Upcoming Live Online RTI Courses
Registration for Live Online Courses ends at 5:00 PM ET on the day before the first class.
Rate Case Basics 2024 – How to Prepare, Read, and Analyze a Utility Rate Case
May 21, 22, and 23, 2:00 PM – 4 PM Daily via Zoom
This live, on-line 3-day/6 hour course taught by Bill Steele provides an introduction to utility rate cases. Students will learn how rate cases are prepared and analyzed, including the basic parts of a rate case, data sources, test years, and other key elements of the rate development process. This introductory level course is directed to those who develop, analyze, and review rate cases. Click here to register
Fees: $200 full NARUC Members; $400 for all others.
Available On-Demand Courses
On-demand courses must be pre-paid with a credit card. A “bill me option” is not available.
Purchase orders cannot be accepted. Each student must register separately. Group orders are not available. On-demand courses cannot be canceled or refunded.
Electricity 101- On Demand
Electricity 101 provides a high-level overview of the electric utility industry, including the way in which power is generated, distributed, and regulated. Topics covered include a history of the industry, the types of electric utilities, state versus federal jurisdiction, state regulatory basics, including the various types of proceedings in front of public utility commissions, and a sampling of current industry trends. This 6-hour, on-line course, conducted over 3 days, is taught by industry experts Phillip D. Moeller (EEI), Robert S. Kenney (Xcel Energy), and Phillip J. Dion (EEI). Click here to register
Fees: $150 full NARUC Members; $300 for all others
Water Utility Economic Regulation 101 (On-demand)
Taught by the Honorable Jeff Hughes, Chair of the NARUC Committee on Water and a Commissioner with the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC), this course is designed to de-mystify the economic regulation of water utilities and better prepare those involved in water regulation to address current and emerging water economic regulatory issues. Topics covered include Economic regulation vs. environmental regulation, the basics of traditional economic regulation/rate making, the impact of emerging environmental and public health issues, and alternative rate making practices and approaches. Click here to register
Fees: $150 NARUC Members; $300 all others
Preside or Lead? The Attributes and Actions of Effective Regulators (On-demand)
Effective utility regulators can distinguish rate base from base rate, capacity factor from capacity accreditation, return on rate base from return on equity. But technical mastery is not enough. Effective utility regulators have attributes—like purposefulness, decisiveness, independence, discipline, creativity and ethics. Effective regulators use their attributes and actions for a central purpose: to bring customers the industry performance they deserve. In this short course, Scott Hempling leads a distinguished group of regulatory practitioners in a series of four conversations:
Session 1: Effective regulators: Attributes, posture and mission — Hon. Conrad Reddick, ICC
Session 2: Regulatory courage: Channeling political pressure to public-interest outcomes — David S. Lapp, Maryland People’s Counsel
Session 3: Finding the “best possible mix of inevitably imperfect competition and inevitably imperfect regulation” — Travis Kavulla, NRG
Session 4: Jurisdictional reality means jurisdictional cooperation — Montina Cole, Jai Green Consulting
Fees: $50 NARUC members and all others
PBR for Energy Utilities (On-demand)
This 6-hour course taught by expert Mark Newton Lowry will explore performance-based ratemaking (PBR). The traditional cost of service approach to energy utility ratemaking is under stress . Business conditions encourage frequent rate cases that weaken utility performance incentives and may raise regulatory cost. Many also question utility incentives to protect the environment. PBR can improve utility performance and under some approaches streamline ratemaking. This course will explain the rationale for PBR and detail four established approaches used today: - Relaxation of the link between revenue and grid use (e.g. revenue decoupling) - Performance metrics and performance incentive mechanisms (“PIMs”) - Targeted incentives for underused practices (e.g. pilot programs and totex accounting) - Multiyear rate plans - Salient precedents and recent developments will also be highlighted. Comparisons will be made to capital cost trackers and formula rates as well as to traditional ratemaking. Click here to register
Fees: $150 NARUC Members; $300 all others
Conducting Distributional Equity Analysis (DEA) (On-demand)
This 6-hour on-demand course taught by Tim Woolf and Alice Napoleon of Synapse and Nichole Hanus from LBL provides training on conducting Distributional Equity Analysis (DEA) in conjunction with benefit-cost analysis (BCA) to help inform regulatory decision-making in utility DER investments using a broad decision framework. The training describes the difference between DEA and BCA and walks through examples of conducting a DEA using selected distributional equity metrics and example target populations (e.g., disadvantaged communities). The course will use guidance on conducting DEA for energy efficiency and other DERs being developed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Click here to register
Fees: $150 NARUC Members; $300 all others
Introduction to Utility Finance for Regulators (On-demand)
This 6 hour on-demand course taught by Mark Cicchetti, Assistant Director, Division of Accounting and Finance, Florida Public Service Commission, provides students with an understanding of the basic finance and regulatory concepts of utility regulation. Topics include why utilities are regulated; risk and return; portfolio theory; the relationship between rate base and capital structure; the weighted average cost of capital; and the required return on common equity. The course will also review financial concepts commonly associated with utility regulation, such as optimal capital structure, market-to-book ratios, and securitized bonds. Click here to register
Fees: $150 NARUC members; $300 all others
Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) for Distributed Energy Resources (DERs): 2023 (On-demand)
This om-demand course reviews the purpose, process, and key considerations in cost-effectiveness testing of single or multiple distributed energy resource (DER) investments. Taught by Karl Rábago (Rábago Energy) and Tim Woolf (Synapse Energy Economics), the course describes the fundamental principles of benefit-cost analysis, presents key factors and considerations for identifying relevant costs and benefits for different DER technologies, and explains to use a common framework to develop a primary BCA test for use in designing, evaluating, and improving DER programs and rates. Case studies will illustrate state application of a consistent BCA framework, as well as describe BCAs for select DER use cases. The course will be taught by Karl Rábago (Rábago Energy) and Tim Woolf (Synapse Energy Economics). Click here to register
Fees: $150 NARUC Members; $300 all others
How to Be An Effective Witness (On-demand)
This 3 day/6 hour live course taught by QSI consulting is directed to commissioners, commission staff, and stakeholders who prepare and deliver testimony in state regulatory proceedings. It reviews the institutional context of administrative agencies and how they implement their key purpose, the promotion of the public interest, through witness testimony. The course will also provide guidelines for writing sound and persuasive testimony as the foundation for being an effective witness. Click here to register
Fees: $150 NARUC members; $300 all others
The Basics of Utility Accounting and Ratemaking for Regulators 2024
This 3-day/6 hour course taught by Bill Steele provides an introduction to the processes, general principles, and terms used in financial accounting and reporting by regulated utilities. The course addresses items of particular importance to utility regulation, including investments in capital, depreciation, etc. Examples from the utility industry will be used to illustrate key concepts and calculations. Click here to register
Fees: $150 NARUC members; $300 all others
Including Equity and Energy and Environmental Justice in State Public Utility Commission Decisions (On-demand)
This course reviews the major definitions and dimensions of E&EEJ, including: reviewing proposed metrics for studying E&EEJ effects in each major dimension; reforming public participation processes to advance diversity, inclusiveness, and equity; examining the distribution of costs and benefits produced by ratepayer-funded programs and utility investments; adjusting utility tariffs to achieve more equitable outcomes; and integrating E&EEJ into the daily practices of utilities and utility regulators. The course will also report on the way in which state commissions are incorporating equity perspectives into utility regulatory proceedings. Click here to register.
Fees: $99 NARUC members; $199 all others
Telecom 101 (On-demand)
This is an 8-hour course on current topics in telecommunications. It reviews the history of telecommunications regulation and universal service and the changes in state and federal oversight as competition has replaced direct regulation. Topics covered include Universal Service, Cooperative Federalism, the 1934 and 1996 Telecommunications Acts, key technical innovations (VoIP, wireless, 5G, satellite broadband), Lifeline, broadband deployment and adoption, and consumer protection. Click here to register.
Fees: $125 NARUC members; $250 all others
Fundamentals of Resource Adequacy (On-demand)
This recent RTI course covers concepts in resource adequacy and emerging methods to ensure grid reliability. This an eight-hour course, presented in four two-hour lectures. The course addresses several topics, including resource adequacy as an assessment of risk; the definitions and relationships between resource adequacy, reliability, and resilience; the role of regulators in assessing, forecasting, and ensuring resource adequacy; and emerging concepts in resource adequacy. Click here to register.
Fees: $125 NARUC members, $250 all others
An Introduction the Theory and Practice of Regulation (On-demand)
This program will provide participants with an introduction to the principles and practice of regulation. The principles of regulation are a mix of engineering, financial, legal, accounting, and economic concepts and methods that provide the basis from which regulatory decisions are made. The practice of regulation focuses on the scope of regulatory decisions and how those decisions are made, including the mix of different types of expertise needed to mold those decisions. Click here to register
Fees: $50 NARUC members and all others
Registering for RTI Courses
- Your MyNARUC account is used to register and take courses. If you don’t have an account, create one at https://www.naruc.org/mynaruc/.
- Commissioners and commission staff members should be sure to use their commission email addresses when creating a MyNARUC account to ensure proper pricing. There is no charge for a MyNARUC account.
- Pricing for courses is based on course length. NARUC commission members receive a discounted price.
- To register for a course, go to https://www.naruc.org//events/regulatory-training-initiative/ and select the course you want to take. The site will redirect you to the RTI registration site. Login to the site with your MyNARUC ID.
- Once you’ve logged in, click on the top navigation bar, select Register for Courses, and then choose the course you want to take.
Accessing RTI On-Demand Courses
- Go to https://naruc.prosperitylms.com/Learners
- Log in with your MyNARUC account. Each person must log in separately.
- Click on the In Progress Tab at the top of the page
- Select the on-demand course for which you are registered.
- Click on details.
- You can open and watch the course.
Cancellations
If you are unable to attend or secure a substitute from the same organization, cancellation must be submitted via email to Bunnary Tan @ btan@naruc.org. A refund less a 20% processing fee will be provided if the cancellation is received no later than one week prior to the start date of the course.
Substitutions
If you cannot attend an RTI class, you may substitute an individual from the same organization. The substitution must be made one week prior to the course. The substitute must have a profile in the system. Click this link to create a profile in MatrixMaxx; https://www.naruc.org/mynaruc/. For assistance, email rtisupport@naruc.org.
NARUC reserves the right to cancel or postpone courses in the unlikely event of insufficient enrollment or other unforeseen circumstances.
Please email questions to RTISupport@naruc.org