Commercial Property Executive: Five States to Watch in 2019

The e21 Initiative’s work on performance-based regulation was mentioned in Commerical Property Executive as an effort in one of the Five States to Watch.

The excerpt below was published on January 17, 2019. You can read the full article here. 

MINNESOTA

Minnesota is among the growing roster of states that are considering a new approach to rates for regulated utilities. Rather than basing increases primarily on the utility’s capital outlays, the new approach ties electric rates to various aspects of a regulated utility’s performance. The state’s public utilities commission is leading a process that would apply most notably to Xcel Energy, Minnesota’s largest investor-owned utility, which is seeking approval for its next rate structure.

Goals of the transition include affordability, reliability, customer engagement, improved environmental performance and aligning electric generation and load, noted Great Plains Institute Project manager Trevor Drake in a blog last November for the e21 Initiative, a five-year-old program that brings together stakeholders in Minnesota’s electric system.

Other states that are either established or are considering performance-based ratemaking include Hawaii, which approved the new regulatory structure in April 2018, and Rhode Island, which stipulated a variety of benefits as part of National Grid’s most recent residential rate increase last August.