Process for Purpose

This report by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) examines utility regulatory reform efforts across 10 U.S. states to identify effective processes for transforming the power sector. It argues that traditional quasi-judicial regulatory processes are inadequate for the scale and complexity of current energy transitions and proposes a four-stage framework—initiation, vision communication, conduction, and delivery of outcomes—to achieve more transformational results.

• Successful utility regulatory reform typically follows a four-stage process: initiating the reform process, communicating the vision for reform, conducting the reform process, and delivering reform outcomes.
• Traditional regulatory processes, characterized by quasi-judicial hearings and back-and-forth filings, are often too restrictive and adversarial to manage the complexity of the electricity system's transformation.
• Regulatory processes are categorized as either investigatory, which explore grid needs and reform options without immediate rule changes, or decisional, which aim to adopt new rules or programs.
• The initiation of reform can be driven by various catalysts, including grid modernization needs, public policy (such as clean energy commitments), cost concerns (e.g., high fuel costs in Hawaii), or catastrophic events (e.g., Hurricane Sandy in New York).
• Regulators' ability to initiate reform is influenced by their interest, statutory authority, and perceived political feasibility. In some states, a lack of explicit statutory authority on climate or clean energy leads regulators to justify reforms using traditional mandates like safety, reliability, and just and reasonable rates.
• An effective reform process must be anchored by a guiding vision that defines the opportunity, the benefits to customers and the grid, the expected outputs, and how those outputs will inform future policy implementation.
• To bridge the gap between investigation and full-scale reform, regulators and utilities can use pilots as regulatory test beds to experiment with new ideas, such as performance-based regulation, before permanent implementation.

APA

Cross-Call, D., Goldenberg, C., & Wang, C. (2019). Process for Purpose. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2019/02/rmi-process-for-purpose.pdf

Chicago

Cross-Call, Dan, Cara Goldenberg, and Claire Wang. Process for Purpose. RMI, 2019. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2019/02/rmi-process-for-purpose.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Cross-Call |first1=Dan |last2=Goldenberg |first2=Cara |last3=Wang |first3=Claire |title=Process for Purpose |publisher=RMI |date=February 2019 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2019/02/rmi-process-for-purpose.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{crosscall2019process, author = {Cross-Call, Dan and Goldenberg, Cara and Wang, Claire}, title = {{Process for Purpose}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2019}, month = feb, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2019/02/rmi-process-for-purpose.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }