Good Times at NARUC’s “Boot Camp”
Posted on October 22, 2015 by Nadine Hanhan
Tags, Conference & Events
Each year, at Michigan State University, the Institute of Public Utilities hosts Camp NARUC (National Association for Regulated Utility Commissioners), a two-week program that incorporates the basics of utility regulation and beyond. There are beginning and intermediate workshops over the course of two weeks, and this past August, Jaime and I had the privilege to attend. The conference was jam-packed with a wealth of information, ranging from engineering basics to smart grid to telecommunications, and of course, electric and natural gas. There was much to absorb as the Camp covered every aspect of the utility industry. The workshops were taught by experts from around the country who specialize in specific areas of the industry.
The first week dealt with the fundamentals. There were workshops dedicated to exploring the accounting principles behind rate cases, regulatory finance, wholesale and retail pricing for both electricity and natural gas, the history of utility regulation, and bonus sessions with various topics including analysis of financial data and emergency planning. The first week was great because though it contained some basics, it filled in some information gaps as well. It was helpful being able to talk to experts and ask highly specific questions about the nuts and bolts of the grid (no pun intended!) In particular, I really enjoyed the workshop on regulatory finance applications taught by Mr. Steven Kihm. Participants worked through various examples to gain a better understanding of the principles behind how return on equity is set by regulators. The workshop also included working through examples of actual firms and understanding some of their financial characteristics.
It was very helpful getting some more information on the intricacies of telecommunications—in particular, how telephone networks have evolved throughout history, starting with the very first patents on the telephone. It gave me a better understanding of how the current regulatory structure came to be. The workshops also provided insight about future challenges regarding telecom—namely, the logistical difficulties associated with modernizing telecom networks to keep up with customer preferences over an aging infrastructure. Overall, the workshops provided a good overview of the past, present, and potential future of telecommunications.
The second week was even more impactful as it covered advanced, cutting-edge topics—one workshop was all about the new Clean Power Plan final rule, released just one week before Camp NARUC! There were a number of workshops about distributed solar (solar power generated relatively close to the end-user) and its future role as part of the grid. There was an interesting workshop on dynamic pricing (where electricity prices change throughout the day), several informative workshops on the future of telecom, and intelligent networks (including smart grids). It was definitely interesting to hear about a range of topics—from several intriguing workshops about what we might expect future gas supply and prices to look like, to the long-term effects of financial incentives on Germany’s solar industry. To be sure, the conference gave us a lot to think about and exposed us to ideas we otherwise might not have discovered.
All in all, Jaime and I are grateful to have attended such an instructive program. There are many different facets to public utilities, and though two weeks couldn’t possibly have covered all of it, it certainly gave us so much more knowledge to take back to CUB, to help us become better analysts and fight for residential ratepayers!
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05/02/17 | 0 Comments | Good Times at NARUC’s “Boot Camp”