By KENNETH W. COSTELLO
I am not a party in the PNM-Avangrid (“Joint Applicants”) merger case before the Public Regulation Commission. I have, however, read the testimony submitted by the Joint Applicants.
Based on my past experience working for state utility commissions around the country when employed at the National Regulatory Research Institute for almost 30 years, I offer a few observations.
In ruling on the proposed merger, by law, the PRC should consider whether it advances the public interest. While there are different interpretations of the public interest, the one that is most prominent in utility regulation is the balancing of shareholder and customer interests.
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I am not a party in the PNM-Avangrid merger case before the Public Regulation Commission. I have read, however, the testimony submitted by the joint applicants. Based on my past experience working for state utility commissions around the country with the National Regulatory Research Institute for almost 30 years, I offer a few observations.
In ruling on the proposed merger, by law the PRC should consider whether it advances the public interest. While there are different interpretations of the public interest, the one most prominent in utility regulation is balancing of shareholder and customer interests.
Regulation’s central purpose is to induce high-quality performance from utilities that recognizes the importance of having a financially solvent utility and reliable utility service at affordable rates. Higher performance can lead to lower rates, higher quality of service and avoidance of e
Published Feb. 17, 2021
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The following is a contributed article by Kenneth W. Costello, a regulatory economist and independent consultant who has worked for the National Regulatory Research Institute, the Illinois Commerce Commission and Argonne National Laboratory.
With deepening concerns over climate change, policymakers, electric utilities and environmentalists are championing the idea of electrification, notably for the replacement of fossil fuels with electricity for direct end uses like transportation, and water and space heating.
Electric vehicles and heat pumps are the electrification technologies that have received the most attention up to now. Other than power plants, the two largest sources of carbon emissions are cars and light trucks, and buildings. For buildings, the two largest emitting sources of carbon are for space heating and water heating.
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