The Problem
Monopoly utilities have significant resources to spend on adjudicating rate cases, the procedures through which utilities request rate increases from regulators, giving them an advantage over customers or consumer advocates who want to participate in the process. In 2023, utilities’ rate increase requests hit a record high for a third consecutive year. Those rate increase requests totaled $18.3 billion.
The Solution
Ten states — California, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin — have programs to compensate smaller customers and consumer advocates for the costs incurred by participating in rate cases. Another seven states — Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, New Hampshire, Tennessee, and West Virginia — have authorized programs that have never been used, are extremely limited, or that have gone dormant.
States without intervenor compensation programs should consider creating them, ensuring that compensation is based on the actual costs incurred to participate in a rate case. Compensation programs should also ensure that attorneys are paid both for winning payouts for plaintiffs, as well as for winning future rate reductions or other benefits for residents, such as better environmental or consumer protections.