NMSU: “The Basics” Practical Regulatory Training for the Electric Industry & the Natural Gas Local Distribution (LDC) Industry.

Industry & Emerging Issues Rate Case & Financial Concepts Regulation, Adjudication & Administrative Law Introductory
CATEGORY
Industry & Emerging Issues, Rate Case & Financial Concepts, Regulation, Adjudication & Administrative Law
CONTENT LEVEL
Introductory
TOPIC
Basics of Regulation, Cost Allocation, Rate Design & Rate Classification (ERC Anatomy of a Rate Case Part II), Cost of Capital & Utility Finance, Electricity, Intro to Economic Regulation & Regulatory Accounting, Natural Gas, Performance Based Regulation, Revenue Requirement (ERC Anatomy of a Rate Case Part 1)
COURSE OFFERED BY
NMSU
CONTENT SCOPE
  • Different types of regulation and the regulation of energy utilities
  • Regulatory independence
  • Role of governments in setting policy and legislative framework for regulators
  • Regulator role, due process, and binding decisions
  • Basics of cost of service economic regulation
  • Electric industry 101
  • State of the electricity sector in Canada
  • Grid – transmission, distribution, generation
  • Electricity markets (vertically integrated and other models),
  • Regulatory system in Canada
  • Natural Gas Industry 101
  • Natural gas market
  • Consumer demands
  • Science of natural gas
  • Pipelines and other gas industry infrastructure
  • Technology development
  • Emissions reduction efforts and other policy goals
  • Overview of the “four sets of books” used by regulated entities
  • Standard financial statements and accounting principles
  • Role of a regulator re: financial statements of regulated companies
  • How and why transactions are treated differently for regulated entities.
  • Deferral and variance
  • How to read financial statements
  • IFRS/US GAAP
  • Establishing the Revenue Requirement
  • Forecasting exercise to determine the utility’s costs to provide service (i.e., ‘cost of service’)
  • Review and approval process by the regulator so a utility can charge its customers.
  • Deferral and Variance Accounts in CoS
  • Natural monopolies and rates based on the costs of service.
  • Operating and capital costs.
  • Variables the regulator considers in establishing Cost of Service and reflecting in rates
  • Principles that inform regulatory discretion, and what makes cost of capital so contentious
  • Depreciation
  • Alternatives to the traditional cost of service (COS) approach to rate making. Typical components of a PBR plan
  • Effectiveness and regulatory efficiency of COS and how they can be improved. The spectrum of regulation between COS and PBR.
  • Determining how to equitably divide revenue requirement amongst ratepayer classes
  • Design of rates and charges to collect revenue from each class
  • Load Retention, Riders & Deferrals
  • Approaches to address affordability
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