Preside or Lead? The Attributes and Actions of Effective Regulators

Our public utilities--monopoly sellers of electricity, gas, telecommunications, and water--build and operate the infrastructure that supports modern economies. The purpose of public utility regulation is to define and demand the performance required of these companies. The many regulatory actions (e.g., legislation, rulemaking, adjudication, judicial review), and the many regulatory techniques (e.g., ratemaking, merger review, unbundling and the introduction of competition), can succeed only if decisionmakers and practitioners share the same goal: aligning private behavior with the public interest.

Whatever the context--renewable energy, nuclear power, broadband, gas pipeline explosions, smart grid, transmission, carbon emissions--and whatever the forum--federal and state legislatures, commissions or courts--regulators must be purposeful, educated, independent and decisive. And to face the forces of self-interest and short-term thinking that can undermine the high purpose of regulation, they need curiosity, ethics and courage.

These 60 essays, authored by a veteran practitioner, advisor and educator, describe the attributes and actions that ensure utility performance.