Why Public Utility Commissions Will Need to Integrate Climate Adaptation into Utility Regulations

01/25/23

“Why will public utility commissions need to integrate climate adaptation into utility regulations?”

Climate change has arrived. Vast swaths of California are burning. Bangladesh is flooding. The Sahel is turning more and more into a desert. Utilities are going to have to adapt to this new paradigm. However, if there are no regulations to govern them, they might propose solutions that don’t benefit their customers. For example, they could harden their infrastructure to climate pathways that are considered too extreme by most scientists, just so they can extract as much money as possible. To solve this, public utility commissions will have to step in and enforce regulations on these organizations. Actions to undertake this range from bringing climate adaptation matters into rate case proceedings to forcing adherence to particular standards. This is Why Public Utility Commissions Will Need to Integrate Climate Adaptation into Utility Regulations

• Earth/Climate science
• Engineering
• Policy
• Urban Systems