Monthly Essays

In October 2007 I began writing a series of monthly essays on effective regulation. Each month a new essay is posted on my homepage and emailed to over 3,000 people across the country and the globe. I often receive very insightful comments from essay readers, and those comments help to fuel additional ideas and discussion on effective regulation.

A collection of the first five years’ essays was published in 2013, in the book entitled Preside or Lead? The Attributes and Actions of Effective Regulators. Also, I am pleased to report that the book was translated into Spanish in 2014 and is available for purchase.

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Attributes of Effective Regulators

Merger Rejected: Common Sense from Washington \| February 2019	Read more
Regulatory Candor: Do We Own Up? \| July 2018	Read more
A Letter to Governors and Legislators \| February 2018	Read more
A Nobel Prize for a Behavioral Economics Pioneer: Are There Lessons for Regulation? \| November 2017	Read more
The Ethical Regulator \| July 2017	Read more
The Respectful Regulator \| June 2017	Read more
The Creative Regulator \| May 2017	Read more
The Synthesizing Regulator \| March 2017	Read more
The Disciplined Regulator \| February 2017	Read more
Advice to Presidents and Governors on Appointing Excellent Regulators \| December 2016	Read more
Certification of Regulatory Professionals: Why Not? (Part II) \| May 2015	Read more
Certification of Regulatory Professionals: Why Not? (Part I) \| April 2015	Read more
A Letter to Governors and Legislators \| October 2010	Read more
The Effective Regulator: Independence \| December 2007	Read more
The Effective Regulator: Decisiveness \| November 2007	Read more
The Effective Regulator: Education \| October 2007	Read more
The Effective Regulator: Purposefulness \| September 2007	Read more

Actions of Effective Regulators

The "Public Interest": Who Has a Definition? \| September 2017	Read more
"Too Big to Fail": A Premise without Support \| August 2017	Read more
Assessing Regulatory Performance: Measurements, Actions, Results \| August 2015	Read more
The San Bruno Explosion: Were the Wrong People Penalized? \| June 2015	Read more
"Too Big to Fail": A Premise without Support \| October 2014	Read more
Regulatory Brainstorming: When and Where? \| April 2012	Read more
Alfred Kahn (1917–2010) \| December 2010	Read more
Regulatory Literacy: A Seasonal Self-Assessment \| November 2010	Read more
"Smart Grid" Spending: A Commission’s Pitch-Perfect Response to a Utility’s Seven Errors \| June 2010	Read more
Regulatory Multitasking: Does It Do Long-Term Damage? \| August 2009	Read more
The Regulatory Mission: Do We “Balance” Private Interests, or Do We Align Them With the Public Interest? \| November 2008	Read more
Commissions Are Not Courts; Regulators Are Not Judges \| January 2008	Read more

Political Pressures

Effective Utility Regulation: A Unifying Cause for a Divided America \| March 2018	Read more
"I'm an Energy Voter": What Does That Mean This Year? \| September 2016	Read more
"Regulatory Capture" I — Is It Real? \| September 2012	Read more
"Regulatory Capture" II — What Are the Warning Signs? \| September 2012	Read more
“Regulatory Capture” III — Avoiding and Escaping \| September 2012	Read more
Is Learning to Regulate Like Learning to Cook? \| July 2009	Read more
"Politics": The Public and Private Versions \| May 2008	Read more
"Politics": How Can Regulators Respond? \| May 2008	Read more
Competition "vs." Regulation: Have We Achieved Conversational Clarity? (Part I) \| May 2008	Read more
Competition "vs." Regulation: Have We Achieved Conversational Clarity? (Part II) \| May 2008	Read more

Jurisdiction: Power Is a Means, Not an End

Maryland's Supreme Court Loss: A Win for Consumers, Competition and States \| May 2016	Read more
FPA "Power Grab": On Whose Foot is the Shoe? \| April 2016	Read more
Federal–State Jurisdiction IV: A Plea for Constitutional Literacy \| July 2012	Read more
More on Legislative–Regulatory Relations: Layers, Protections, and Cost-Effectiveness \| April 2011	Read more
It’s April—Do You Know Where Your Legislatures Are? \| March 2011	Read more
Intra-Regional Relations: Can States’ Commonalities Overcome Their Differences? \| June 2009	Read more
Federal–State Jurisdiction III: Jurisdictional Peace Requires Joint Purpose \| May 2009	Read more
Federal–State Jurisdiction II: Jurisdictional Wrestling vs. Coordinated Regulation \| February 2009	Read more
Federal–State Jurisdiction I: Pick Your Metaphor \| January 2009	Read more
Legislatures and Commissions: How Well Do They Work Together? \| February 2008	Read more

Mergers and Regulated Utilities

Inconsistent with the Public Interest: FERC’S Three Decades of Deference to Electricity Consolidation \| December 2018	Read more
Merger Denied: Now What? \| October 2016	Read more
Distributed Resources and Distribution Mergers: Are They on a Collision Course? \| August 2014	Read more
"No Harm" vs. "Positive Benefits": The Wrong Conversation about Merger Standards \| May 2014	Read more
Contests for Control: Who Should Make the Rules? \| April 2014	Read more
Protecting Innovation during Consolidation: The Advantages of Alertness \| February 2014	Read more
Two Trends in Tension: Does Consolidation Reduce Innovation? \| January 2014	Read more
Merger Posture: Don't Defer, Lead \| November 2013	Read more
The Dangers of Merger Deference II \| October 2013	Read more
The Dangers of Merger Deference I \| September 2013	Read more
Merger Proceedings II: Do Commissions Make Themselves Marginal? \| August 2013	Read more
Merger Proceedings I: Do Commissions Make Themselves Marginal? \| June 2013	Read more
Merger Strategy: Make Regulators Marginal \| May 2013	Read more
"Darwin Economics": How Does It Affect Merger Decisions? \| April 2013	Read more
Preparing for Mergers: A Commission’s Bottom Lines \| March 2013	Read more
Utility Mergers: Who Has a Vision? \| February 2013	Read more
Mergers: Are the Promoters Ahead of the Regulators? \| March 2012	Read more

Regulatory Courage

Regulatory Principles: Old Thoughts for the New Year \| January 2019	Read more
Economic Inequality: Does Utility Regulation Contribute? \| October 2018	Read more
No Anticompetitive Conduct, No Unearned Advantage: Effective Competition Depends on Merit \| August 2018	Read more
"Transmission Competition": No Longer an Oxymoron \| August 2016	Read more
Regulatory Law: Why So Unclear on Matters So Important? \| July 2016	Read more
Executive Pay: Should Regulation Play a Role? \| September 2015	Read more
What "Regulatory Compact"? \| March 2015	Read more
Incumbency vs. Diversity, Monopoly vs. Merits: Who Should Provide the New Distribution Platforms? \| July 2014	Read more
New Suppliers in the New Century: Will Incumbency Trump Merits? \| March 2014	Read more
“All of the Above” Is Not a National Energy Policy \| August 2012	Read more
"Affordable" Utility Service: What is Regulation's Role? \| June 2012	Read more
Supporter-as-Critic: An Expanded Role for Regulatory Professionals \| May 2012	Read more
Promoting Diversity and Prohibiting Discrimination: Is There a Regulatory Obligation to Society? \| January 2012	Read more
Separating Policy Mandates From Cost Consequences: Will the Public Lose Trust? \| November 2011	Read more
“Protect the Consumer” – From What? \| September 2010	Read more
Low Rates, High Rates, Wrong Rates, Right Rates \| December 2008	Read more

Practice and Procedure

Teaching Public Utility Performance \| September 2018	Read more
The Committee of Inconsistent Capitalists: Is Your Utility a Member? \| May 2018	Read more
Tweeting and Polling: Insults to Effective Regulation \| January 2018	Read more
Decisional Defaults: Does Regulation Have Them Backwards? \| October 2017	Read more
The Supreme Court Saves Demand Response: Now What? \| February 2016	Read more
"Reforming the Energy Vision": Did New York Get Everything Right? \| July 2015	Read more
Agency Adjudication: Efforts at Excellence \| January 2015	Read more
Demand Response: Four Options for Action, Four Mistakes to Avoid \| November 2014	Read more
D.C. Circuit Kills Demand Response Compensation: Now What? \| June 2014	Read more
Utility Rate Proposals: Are We Aligning Compensation With Performance? \| July 2013	Read more
Competition for the Monopoly — Why So Rare? \| January 2013	Read more
Rate Case Timing: Alertness or Auto-Pilot? \| February 2011	Read more
“Prudence”: Who’s Minding the Store? \| January 2011	Read more
Utility Performance: Will We Know It When We See It? \| July 2010	Read more
“Framing”: Does It Divert Regulatory Attention? \| May 2010	Read more
Interconnection Animus: Do Regulatory Procedures Create a “Tragedy of the Commons”? \| September 2009	Read more
Interconnection Animus: The Readers React \| September 2009	Read more
Decisional Defaults: Does Regulation Have Them Backwards? \| March 2009	Read more
"Regulatory Settlements": When Do Private Agreements Serve the Public Interest? \| July 2008	Read more

Regulatory Organizations

Internal Commission Organization: Who Should Do What? \| June 2016	Read more
Regulatory Expense: Is Asymmetry Inevitable? \| February 2015	Read more
As the Resource Gap Grows, What Are a Commission’s Duties? \| February 2012	Read more
Commission Positioning: Five Actions for Influence \| July 2011	Read more
Commission Positioning: Using "Vision" to Avoid "Too Big to Fail" \| June 2011	Read more
Commission Budgets: How Do We Know—and Explain—that We're "Worth It"? \| May 2011	Read more
Commission “Branding”: Can It Help Produce Utility Performance? \| August 2010	Read more
Pharmacies and Regulatory Conferences: Do They Have Anything in Common? Can Socrates Help? \| November 2009	Read more
Commission Effectiveness: Is It Measurable? \| April 2009	Read more
Regulatory Resources I: Why Do Differentials Exist? \| September 2008	Read more
Regulatory Resources II: Do the Differentials Make a Difference? \| September 2008	Read more

Aspiration and Thanksgiving

A Regulatory Thanksgiving \| November 2018	Read more
A Regulatory Thanksgiving \| December 2017	Read more
A Regulatory Thanksgiving \| November 2016	Read more
Justice Scalia's Electric Industry: Four Thought-Provocations \| March 2016	Read more
A Wish for the New Year: Agreement on the Principles of Regulation \| January 2016	Read more
Is Regulatory Conflict Inevitable? A Seasonal Plea for Peace \| December 2015	Read more
A Regulatory Thanksgiving \| November 2015	Read more
A Regulatory Thanksgiving \| December 2014	Read more
Essential to Effectiveness: Community Acceptance of Regulation's Mission \| August 2008	Read more

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