In contemplating a regulatory approach, the challenge for regulators is to develop a model that provides incentives for utilities to engage in socially desirable behavior. In this primer, we provide guidance on this process by discussing (1) various models of economic regulation, (2) problems implementing these models, and (3) the types of incentives that various models of regulation provide electric utilities. We address five regulatory models in depth. They include cost-of-service regulation in which prudently incurred costs are reflected dollar-for-dollar in rates and four performance-based models: (1) price-cap regulation, in which ceilings are placed on the average price that a utility can charge its customers; (2) revenue-cap regulation, in which a ceiling is placed on revenues; (3) rate-of-return bandwidth regulation, in which a utilitys̀ rates are adjusted if earnings fall outside a {open_quotes}band{close_quotes} around equity returns; and (4) targeted incentives, in which a utility is given incentives to improve specific components of its operations. The primary difference between cost-of-service and performance-based approaches is the latter sever the tie between costs and prices. A sixth, {open_quotes}mixed approach{close_quotes} combines two or more of the five basic ones. In the recent past, a common mixed approach has been to combine targeted incentives with cost-of-service regulation. A common example is utilities that are subject to cost-of-service regulation are given added incentives to increase the efficiency of troubled electric-generating units.

This book is based on two seminars held at Rutgers on October 22, 1993, and May 6, 1994 entitled `Incentive Regulation for Public Utilities'. These contributions by leading scholars and practitioners represent some of the best new research in public utility economics and include topics such as the theory of incentive regulation, dynamic pricing, transfer pricing, issues in law and economics, pricing priority service, and energy utility resource planning.

This book proposes a new approach to the government regulation of utilities. Arguing that traditional command-and-control regulation does not encourage efficient performance, Strasser and Kohler advocate the use of an incentive-based regulatory system and offer a practical, realistic strategy for the successful implementation of such plans within the context of utility regulation. The analysis is supported by a comprehensive survey of the relevant legal materials, an overview of the literature on organization theory and institutional economics, and a survey of the latest thinking on how incentives can most effectively be paid. Strasser and Kohler begin by identifying problems associated with current regulatory techniques, demonstrating that disincentives are often built into the regulatory system. When that system has tried incentives, the authors show they have been applied in an ad hoc manner, further exacerbating the problem. In presenting the case for incentive-based regulation, the authors review the history of comprehensive incentive plans, look at what organization theory can teach us about using incentives as a regulatory strategy, and explore the effective use of incentive compensation by nonregulated companies. Strasser and Kohler then develop a strategy for implementing incentive plans in regulated utilities, showing that, in order to work, the plans must include the installation of clearly defined bonuses and penalties, specific standards of performance, the payment of bonuses to managers rather than shareholders, and reliable and complete measures of company performance. Policymakers, economists, public utility regulators, and attorneys involved in the complex arena of utility regulation will find Regulating Utilities with Management Incentives indispensable reading.