Advanced technologies are unleashing the potential for change in power sectors around the globe, transforming the way electricity is generated, delivered, and consumed. These changes hold great promise for a better, cleaner, more reliable, and lower cost future. Whether the benefits are achieved will depend on reforming the regulatory approaches to align regulation’s inherent incentives with desired outcomes.

Performance-based regulation, or PBR, is a necessary tool for regulators and policymakers in this era of fundamental change. RAP, in partnership with the Clean Energy Solutions Center, hosted a two-part webinar series exploring PBR and how it can improve outcomes for utilities, customers, regulators, and society at large. In the first webinar on September 21, the presenters outlined the fundamentals of PBR, explained why it’s important, and highlighted how policymakers have used it to further specific goals in the United States and Europe. In the second webinar on October 5, RAP explored the principles of successful—and not-so-successful—PBR efforts, and shared considerations for regulators and policymakers contemplating PBR for better outcomes.