The current regulatory system often serves to financially reward utilities that sell more electricity and penalise those that sell less, thus discouraging energy efficiency. To address the problem, a variety of reforms have been proposed and implemented to make the least-cost plan for meeting future electricty needs the most-profit plan for the utility. This book brings together contributions by over 20 experts who are currently shaping regulatory incentives across the US. These experts analyze: leading incentive mechanisms; rationales for regulatory incentives; how incentives evolved; linkages to programme evaluation; impacts of incentives on utilities; and the future direction of incentives.

This report is the first product of an ongoing project to monitor the efforts of states to remove regulatory barriers to, and provide financial incentives for, utility investment in demand-side management (DSM) resources. The project was commissioned by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) in response to growing interest among regulators for a comprehensive survey of developments in this area. Each state report beings with an overview of the states̀ progress toward removing regulatory barriers and providing incentives for DSM. Information is organized under five headings: status; IRP regulations and practice; current treatment of DSM, directions and trends; commission contact person. Where applicable, each overview is followed by one or more sections that report on specific incentive proposals or mechanisms within the state. Information on each proposal or mechanism is organized under eight headings. A notation on each page identifies the utility or other group associated with the proposal or mechanism. The eight headings are as follows: status; background; treatment of cost recovery; treatment of lost revenues/decoupling; treatment of profitability; other features; issues, and additional observations.

Here is a complete guide to the planning and implementation of effective demand-side management programs. This excellent reference provides expert guidance for every component of the DSM program, including load management programs, forecasting, pricing, and promotion of efficient end-use technologies. For the power user, it will provide new insight into utility incentive and rebate programs, and how to best take advantage of cost-saving benefits.