Less known as “Supreme Court Judge” to decide your electricity bill » Yale Climate Contact

Most people don't spend much time thinking about their state's utility commissions-if they've even heard of it. But these regulators are composed of just a few hundred specialists nationwide, and decisions can affect your monthly utility bill cost, the type of energy that powers your home, and the future of the grid itself. In an era of rising electricity demand and a desperate need for clean energy, the Public Utilities Commission has enormous power over how states navigate the energy transition.

Charles Hua, founder of the nonprofit Power Line, sat down with Yale’s climate links to break down who these specialists are, how to make decisions, and why public participation (or lack thereof) can shape the future of our energy systems.

This interview was edited for clarity and simplicity.

Yale Climate Connection: Who are the state's utility specialists and what decisions do they make?

Charles Wah: have [about] Utilities Specialist in 200 State National-Each state has [a commission]. Of about 40 states, it is usually appointed by the governor, although in several states, which is appointed by the legislature. Then, in about 10 states, they were elected.

These 200 people oversee more than $200 billion in utility spending each year. So, that includes what types of energy utilities invested in from coal and gas to solar, wind and nuclear. In some states, they have authorization for the location and permission of clean energy projects, and they often have some control over transmission in terms of site selection of new power lines.

They also determined how much people paid for utility bills—they set the electricity bill. This is especially important because one-third of Americans struggle to pay for their utility bills. So there is a huge affordability crisis, which only gets worse, especially when we expand and modernize our grid infrastructure.

So, these 200 people are really important. And I think we need to see them as Supreme Court judges in the energy sector because of their impact on the decisions we focus on and ultimately need to see progress.

Editor's Note: The Public Utilities Commission oversees all capital and operating expenses of utilities owned by investors. Capital expenditures for utilities owned by investors are estimated to exceed $200 billion in 2025, and are much larger when including operating expenses. Hua clarified via email that he likes to use “200 people oversee over $200 billion in utility spending” because it is a useful mnemonic that helps people remember and provides conservative estimates.

YCC: Can you put the work of the Utility Commission in the context of the larger transition that is taking place now?

product: At this particular moment, the bet cannot be higher. With the rise of artificial intelligence and data centers and the publication of manufacturing, electricity demand in the United States has grown faster since the 1990s. The growth in electricity demand means we need to build a large number of new resources to power demand.

The question now is, which resources will we invest in? And, if you look at the current proposal, it is largely a combination of renewable energy and a large number of new fossil gas capacity.

We face significant challenges, which are the potential to lay off employees on these clean energy and climate goals. I think it is crucial, especially in this situation, to realize that every other country is paying attention to what the United States is doing in response to this moment. And, if other countries are looking at the United States and say, “If the United States is one of the richest countries in the world, it can invest in new fossil resources to meet the growing demand, why can’t we do that either?” So, everyone needs to be very aware of the momentum being played.

This space is changing rapidly. So, most importantly, we need to operate with deep humility and strategy, while still having confidence that we can truly grow our economy, meet the needs of the most vulnerable communities, and empower the power needs of society.

YCC: Can you guide me through the different ways the public interacts with the Utilities Commission?

product: There are two particularly important procedures for the public utility committee to participate in, called Dockets, that represent opportunities for people to participate: the Integrated Resource Program (IRP) and the Rate Cases.

IRP is a program where utility companies advise how they can invest billions of dollars over a certain time frame, usually around 15 to 30 years. Most states have IRPs and usually have to be updated every two to five years. They basically say, “This is how we want to put money into transmission, distribution and all the different types of generation assets.” Then, the regulators have to finally look at their advice and say, “It makes sense. It doesn’t make sense. Let’s do more. Let’s not do that.” So, the regulators have a key role – they essentially rate the work of utility. So that's why you have truly strong, robust, healthy regulators and regulatory infrastructure.

Another type [of proceeding] Called the rate case. When utilities need to increase or (less) lower interest rates, they have to say before the committee: “Look, we need more money because our capital expenditures have increased, or our operating expenses have paid, so to speak, tree pruning is more than we expected.” So as long as they want to raise or lower interest rates, they have to get approval in front of commissions.

Sometimes participation means actually appearing in [public utility commission] However, there are many different ways people can participate. Arguably the best way to get involved, especially if you’re just starting out, is to find a group that is already on the committee and figure out how to support their efforts.

YCC: What are the obstacles that prevent people from expressing their voices through the Utilities Commission?

product: First of all, most Americans don't even know [public utility commission] yes. No one should know what [public utility commission] Yes – it's like offensive wingers in football – If you hear about them, frankly, it might be because something goes wrong.

But, even if you know this, they often encounter it [during the day] When you work, you won't stop working to appear at the hearing. Even if you do, there is a portion that can provide public comments, but in many states, the commission has no law to actually listen to it and include it in the case. Other times, they want to hear and combine, but legally, they don't allow it. So even if you have a support specialist, this is a problem.

But, assume that everything happened. How does the Commissioner weigh the evidence of a single member of the public relative to the utility that operates and operates grid assets? Are you going to convince regulators in some way that you know more about reliability than they do?

So, this is not to say that public appearances have no impact. Absolutely. In many cases, public participation has led to a decline in interest and tax rates, which is significantly more beneficial to policies such as solar panels on roofs and other intelligent, common sense measures such as energy efficiency, such as energy efficiency.

This is also true World Health Organization Appear before these committees and what you can do to align with others and bring new members into this wider engagement alliance. It cannot be just a climate advocate; it must be a wide range of people affected by it [public utility commission] Frankly, for the most part, people only want an affordable, reliable and often sustainable power cut political ideology.

YCC: Can you give an example to illustrate that community opinions have made a difference?

product: There are many examples of community participation, with [public utility commission] Improve positive results. I'll give you an example, it's happening in Massachusetts now.

Massachusetts is an interesting state because there is a huge appetite for electrification from a public policy perspective to enable more heat pump adoption. There are currently a large population of fuel being delivered, which is one of the most expensive ways to heat a home, with the majority on the Massachusetts gas system. Lack of financing solutions or financial support is often financially difficult.

The Massachusetts Utilities Department has been working with community advocates to increase energy affordability and affordable cases. They are actively investigating how countries can reduce the energy burden by looking at what the state can do in terms of rate design and how different interest rate structures lead to different outcomes from an electrification and fairness perspective.

So, this is an example of a healthy level of community engagement that is locking in and working with government entities involved in pushing these issues.

YCC: Do you want the average person to understand how commissions affect their daily lives?

product: There's an irony place here [public utility commissions] It's one of the worst things in the entire climate and energy space. but [public utility commissions] Directly affect people's personal wallets, livelihoods and material conditions. These utility committees set interest rates, determine your utility bills, and have the right to make sure that utilities are developing investments that will actually lead to better consumer outcomes and deploy more clean energy in the system.

So at least you should look up who the utility specialist in your state is and understand the types of decisions they make, how they affect the different conditions in your state, as it relates to implementing your state’s clean energy policies or setting your utility prices or expanding our grid infrastructure or any other similar conditions.

But as we face unprecedented growth in electricity demand in the coming years, the decisions made by these 200 people will have a huge impact on the future appearance of our energy system, especially because we have the opportunity to generate energy infrastructure that we build as a society. [will last] 30, 50, and 80 years, it was locked until the end of this century.

So if we don't focus on the investments these utilities are making and what the public utility specialists are approving – then we have the opportunity to reach our clean energy goals as a society, or be crazy. And I think we all have a responsibility to have a level of awareness of these decision makers so that we can ensure that they are ultimately responsible for the public good and that they are doing everything they can to promote a more affordable, reliable and sustainable energy system for all of us.

Tools and further reading

Utilities Committee: Structure and Membership by State

NAACP's Guide to Participation in the Public Utilities Commission