Regulatory Field Trips Series

Field Trips are interactive, 60-minute virtual learning sessions designed for regulators who want to learn from peers across regions. Each virtual “field trip” visits a different regulatory challenge or geography, pairing short presentations with structured exchange to highlight what’s working, what’s challenging, and what might be transferable across contexts. 

Who should join?

The Regulatory Field Trips series is designed primarily for energy regulators and staff working within regulatory authorities who are dealing with evolving power systems, cross-border coordination, and emerging regulatory challenges. The sessions may also be valuable for policymakers, system operators, and energy sector practitioners interested in understanding how regulators in different regions are approaching complex issues in practice and learning from peer experiences.

The sessions are designed to be interactive and practical, with space to compare experiences, surface challenges, and take away insights that can inform ongoing regulatory work.

1. Interregional Energy Planning: Learning Across Borders

How do energy regulators plan infrastructure and markets that extend beyond their jurisdictional borders? This first Regulatory Field Trip explores how different regions have approached interregional planning and market integration, and what lessons regulators can draw from those experiences.

In this session, experts from the United States and Europe share practical insights on how coordination across jurisdictions has evolved over time, the institutional and governance challenges involved, and how cooperation can emerge even across diverse political and regulatory environments.

2. Regulating Under Uncertainty: Practical Approaches

Energy regulators are increasingly required to make decisions in environments shaped by rapid technological change, evolving policy priorities, and uncertain future demand. This session explores how regulators can take a more risk-aware approach to decision-making, focusing on practical ways to navigate uncertainty in evolving power systems.

Drawing on insights from the CERES/RAP paper on risk-aware electricity regulation, the discussion looks at how regulatory decisions can move beyond predicting a single future and instead consider strategies that are robust and adaptable across a range of possible outcomes.

3. Regulating Distributed Generation: Policy to Practice

Distributed generation, including rooftop solar and other customer-owned energy resources, is transforming electricity systems around the world. As adoption grows, regulators face the challenge of enabling investment and consumer participation while ensuring grid reliability, fair cost allocation, and the financial sustainability of utilities.

This Field Trips session explores how regulators and practitioners are approaching these issues in practice. Drawing on experiences from Kenya, Lesotho, and Eswatini, the discussion examines regulatory frameworks, permitting processes, technical standards, net billing, and the practical lessons that can help shape effective distributed generation regulation across different contexts.