CAMPUT Studies

July 2021
Regulators’ responsibilities in energy decision-making are changing and adjusting. This collaborative project between the University of Ottawa’s Positive Energy program and Canada’s Energy and Utility Regulators (CAMPUT) aims to identify innovative approaches and success factors in energy regulatory decision-making in an age of climate change for two areas:

1. Formal two-way interaction between policymakers and regulators, focusing on mechanisms to strengthen policy and regulation while maintaining regulatory independence.
2. Public engagement processes undertaken by regulators, including collaborative mechanisms that help to ensure diversity in information and viewpoints considered in decision-making processes and oversight.

In the summer of 2012, CAMPUT engaged the firm of KPMG LLP to undertake a literature review of the emergence of alternative approaches to regulation across jurisdictions. The report is now available here.

In 2010 CAMPUT released a benchmarking study which examines some of the options available for using benchmarking as a regulatory tool in Canada.

CAMPUT retained two independent consulting companies which worked jointly on the study report – First Quartile Consulting, LLC, of El Segundo, California, and Elenchus Research Associates, Inc., of Toronto, Ontario.  In completing the study, the researchers consulted extensively with electric utilities and energy regulators in Canada.

In the report, entitled “CAMPUT Benchmarking for Regulatory Purposes,” the consultants examine potential uses of benchmarking for regulatory purposes in Canada, as well as issues and concerns around the use of benchmarking.  The report includes a set of metrics which might be used by Canadian regulators to facilitate cross-jurisdictional comparisons among utilities.

CAMPUT provided the study to its member boards and commissions for their consideration.  Individual boards and commissions will determine the degree to which the recommendations are implemented within their jurisdictions.

Along with the Canadian Gas Association and the Canadian Electricity Association, in 2008/2009 CAMPUT held a series of three sessions which progressively explored the implications of carbon pricing: starting with understanding the scale of the challenge and the policy options in play; moving on to understand the potential impacts on both energy consumers and utilities; and finally to understanding the potential implications for regulatory systems in the years ahead.

In the fall of 2005, CAMPUT engaged the services of Summit Blue Consulting, LLC, to conduct a study on Demand Side Management (DSM) with respect to the electricity and natural gas industries. The report, “Demand-Side Management: Determining Appropriate Spending Levels and Cost-Effectiveness Tests”, is available via the links below: