Attendees should plan to arrive at 9:30 AM for registration. Coffee and other light refreshments will be served.

Rory Christian, Chair, New York Public Service Commission

Economic and regulatory history helps explain why utility commissions, working within a longstanding framework, are struggling to meet the challenges of growing competition between gas and electric utilities. This presentation will place the present moment in historical context and underscore the risks for both ratepayers and utilities if policymakers fail to adapt that framework. In doing so, it provides a foundation for examining how the choices made now will shape the future of the energy system.

Michael E. Bloomberg, Executive Director, The Future of Heat Initiative

Competition between electric and gas utilities is no longer hypothetical; it is appearing in regulatory dockets in leading states. In this session, a commissioner, a consumer advocate, and a utility executive will examine how the causes and effects of competition are surfacing, and how they are testing existing regulatory frameworks. The discussion will expose the practical realities facing decision-makers and affected parties, where doctrine is unsettled and every choice shapes precedent.

Radina Valova, Commissioner, New York Public Service Commission

Matt Steuerwalt, Senior Vice President, External Affairs, Puget Sound Energy

David S. Lapp, People’s Counsel, Maryland

At the customer level, competition emerges through price comparisons, fuel choices, and technology adoption. This panel will examine the conditions that drive competition between gas and electricity service in relation to consumers, how and where it is likely to appear and intensity, and what those dynamics mean for utilities and regulators.

Jacob Mays, Assistant Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University

Jeff Perlman, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Bright Power

David Hsu, Associate Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning, MIT

Catie Hausman, Associate Professor, University of Michigan & Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

The Regulatory Assistance Project will present on the institutions and interests that shape utility regulation, setting the stage for guided, at-the-table discussions among participants with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Assigned seating will encourage participants to test assumptions and examine key issues facing regulators from the unique perspectives of their respective disciplines and roles.

Mark LeBel, Principal, Research & Strategy, Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP)

This panel explores the origins and evolution of public utility regulation, from the creation of commissions to the oversight of gas and electric service in those commissions’ formative years. It will examine the responsibilities and limited capacities of today’s regulators, and consider what the historical record reveals about how public utility law and institutions might address competition.

James Van Nostrand, Chair, Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities

Alison Gocke, Associate Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law

Joshua Lappen, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Notre Dame & Research Fellow, Future of Heat Initiative

This panel explores how academic institutions can contribute to the practice of utility regulation. Speakers will highlight initiatives to train the next generation of regulatory attorneys and economists, provide learning opportunities for current regulators, and produce research that regulators can apply in their work. The discussion will consider both the current and potential roles of academia in preparing and informing those who shape the future of the energy system.

Shelley Welton, Presidential Distinguished Professor of Law and Energy Policy, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School

Lynne Kiesling, Director of the Institute for Regulatory Law & Economics, Northwestern University

Joshua Macey, Associate Professor of Law, Yale Law School

Abe Silverman, Assistant Research Scholar, Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute at Johns Hopkins

The day will conclude with closing remarks on opportunities for future research and collaboration among attendees as well as an announcement related to research funding.

Drinks and hors d’ouvres will conclude the day from 4:15-5:30 PM.