Video & Transcript Research : 'alternative ratemaking'

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CA

California 2025-2026 Regular Session

Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee Apr 21st, 2026

Energy, Utilities and Communications

Transcript Highlights:
  • Again, this is not performance-based ratemaking.
  • Performance-based ratemaking.
  • When you bring performance-based ratemaking into the CPUC process, there are trade-offs.
  • alternative financing.
  • alternative financing.
Summary: The committee heard several energy, water, and utility bills. SB 919 by Senator Grayson would extend the biomethane monetary incentive program through 2030 and authorize additional funding to support renewable natural gas projects by reducing interconnection costs. Supporters said high interconnection costs and the current tax treatment are major barriers to methane reduction projects; opponents, including TURN and environmental groups, raised ratepayer cost concerns and objected to rate-basing and additional public funding. The author said amended language would remove the rate-basing provisions and instead urge the CPUC to act quickly on its pending decision. SB 931 by Senator Laird would reauthorize the Community Impact Mitigation Program for the Diablo Canyon plant through 2030 to continue funding local emergency preparedness, fire protection, public safety, and school district costs. The County of San Luis Obispo and labor groups supported the bill, while TURN opposed it as a statewide ratepayer subsidy that could be funded from existing PG&E revenues instead of higher rates. Members discussed the bill in the context of the 2022 Diablo Canyon extension deal and the possibility of a future longer extension. SB 1215 by Senator Cortese would direct the CPUC to set deployment targets for EV charging in multifamily housing and evaluate progress, with amendments aimed at affordability and limiting system upgrade costs. Supporters said renters are largely locked out of home charging and that prior utility programs proved cost-effective; no opposition testified. SB 1359 by Senator Stern would require more deliberate CPUC review before major gas system investments, emphasizing electrification and non-pipeline alternatives. Gas utilities and several industry groups opposed it, arguing it could undermine the obligation to serve, create safety and reliability risks, and change the regulatory compact. The committee also heard SB 1125 by Senator Menjivar, presented by Senator Gonzalez, which would establish a statewide low-income water rate assistance program upon appropriation. Water agencies, environmental groups, and local governments supported the measure, while one member expressed concern that it lacked a funding source and could not overcome Proposition 218 limits; the bill was moved to Appropriations and the roll was left open. Finally, SB 1098 by Senator Perez would restrict the use of long-running memorandum and balancing accounts by investor-owned utilities, require exceptional circumstances for new accounts, and add sunset and cost-sharing requirements. Consumer advocates and large energy users supported tighter oversight, while the utilities and business groups opposed the bill as too rigid and potentially harmful to flexibility for wildfire, emergency, and safety-related costs.
CA

California 2025-2026 Regular Session

Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee Apr 21st, 2026

Energy, Utilities and Communications

Transcript Highlights:
  • It ensures electrification and non-pipeline alternatives are treated as a default, not a nice to have
  • Again, this is not performance-based ratemaking.
  • This is just clear metrics that will allow for good... ...performance-based ratemaking.
  • When you bring performance-based ratemaking into the CPUC process, there are trade-offs.
  • PUC to evaluate alternative financing.
Keywords: 987, senate, all
LA

Louisiana 2026 Regular Session

Health and Welfare Apr 23rd, 2026

Health and Welfare

Transcript Highlights:
  • The bill before the committee is House Bill 1095, relative to alternative power sources in nursing facilities
  • , to require nursing facilities to have fuel or an alternative power generation source to power nursing
  • HB 1095 provides for alternative power sources at nursing homes.
  • requirements of backup generators and fuel on-site remain, but we're amending the words to allow another alternative
Summary: The House Committee on Health and Welfare met on April 23 with a quorum and first deferred or did not hear several bills, including HB 1093, HB 1145, and HB 946. The committee then quickly advanced HB 1095, which would allow nursing facilities to use alternative power generation sources in addition to fuel-powered backup systems; supporters said it would give nursing homes more flexibility while maintaining existing safety and backup-power requirements. The bill was reported favorably without objection. The committee then took up HB 926, a bill concerning vaccination status and admission to public buildings and related medical-freedom provisions. After adopting a set of amendments, including exclusions for licensed health care providers and facilities and clarifications regarding masks and school-related provisions, the committee heard testimony both for and against the measure. Supporters framed it as a privacy and bodily-autonomy bill, while opponents warned it could interfere with public health measures and school immunization rules. After extended debate, HB 926 was reported favorably with amendments by an 8-4 vote. HB 1220, a cleanup bill concerning the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, was amended and then reported favorably. HB 1227, which would require physician peer review before certain disciplinary actions against doctors, drew testimony from the sponsor, a physician supporting the bill, and the board’s executive director, who described the board’s current complaint and review process and raised concerns about practicality and staffing; the sponsor asked for more time to work with the board, and the bill was voluntarily deferred. The committee also reported favorably HB 1217 on pharmacy benefit manager transparency after technical and substantive amendments, and HB 1028 on non-emergency medical transportation reimbursement rates, which was sent to Appropriations. Finally, the committee advanced HB 1185 on rural hospital payment methodologies and HCR 76, which would continue the rural health inequities task force for another year; both were reported favorably.
AZ

Arizona 2026 Regular Session

03/25/2026 - Senate Regulatory Affairs and Government Efficiency

Regulatory Affairs and Government Efficiency

Transcript Highlights:
  • That a retailer is a retailer of alternative nicotine products, specifies that a person may be subject
  • I'm a retailer and manufacturer of alternative nicotine products based here in Arizona.
  • It creates a licensing system for distributors and manufacturers of alternative nicotine products so
  • mental or physical evaluations to consider the alternative evaluator's credentials, independence, and
  • There is alternative law where we can get them at least some compensation.
OK

Oklahoma 2026 Regular Session

Common Education Feb 11th, 2026 at 03:00 pm

Common Education

Transcript Highlights:
  • It's another national accreditation often used by these alternative prep programs.
  • So, would this be different than the alternative emergency and adjunct at 1/4 1, or are you just saying
  • this would be an additional pathway to receive certification for alternatively certified teachers.
  • So, this is another way to get alternatively certified. This is different than emergency adjunct.
  • I am an alternately certified teacher.
MN

Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

House Energy Finance and Policy Committee 3/10/26

Energy Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:
  • So instead of simplifying the ratemaking process, this language confuses and complicates it.
  • So instead of simplifying the ratemaking process, this language confuses and complicates it.
  • So instead of simplifying the ratemaking process, this language confuses and complicates it.
  • So instead of simplifying the ratemaking process, this language confuses and complicates it.
  • So instead of simplifying the ratemaking process, this language confuses and complicates it.
Summary: The committee approved the March 5, 2026 minutes and then took up House File 3458, as amended, which would exempt tribes from utility exclusive rights and assigned service areas. The bill’s author and the Upper Sioux community chairman said the measure was prompted by a dispute over a solar project at the tribal casino and argued the issue is really about tribal sovereignty, not solar, citing tribal civil regulatory authority and prior court cases. The amendment A1 was adopted before testimony. Testimony was split. Chairman Kevin Jensel of the Upper Sioux community strongly supported the bill, saying the tribe should not be forced to follow utility service territories and that the state should correct a long-standing omission in law. Derek Mo of the Minnesota Rural Electric Association opposed the bill, warning it would undermine the regulatory compact, reliability, long-term planning, and financing for electric service, especially in tribal areas. Justin Johns of East Central Energy also opposed the bill, but emphasized that many cooperatives have productive tribal partnerships and said his co-op has worked successfully with the Mille Lacs Band on solar, resilience, and workforce efforts; he cautioned that removing service obligations could leave difficult-to-serve areas underinvested. Members discussed whether the Public Utilities Commission process already underway should be allowed to resolve the dispute and whether the bill’s scope could extend beyond the current solar issue. The chair responded that the bill was a legislative approach to a problem that had not been resolved and said the amendment addressed concerns about removing the obligation to serve. A roll call was requested, and the committee voted to re-refer House File 3458, as amended, to the General Register.
MN

Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

Utility executive compensation 3/17/26

Minnesota House Floor Meeting

Transcript Highlights:
  • the folks who are directly under your oversight jurisdiction, namely the folks who are generating ratemaking
  • who jurisdiction, namely uh the folks who are<00:15:02.800> generating<00:15:03.760> ratemaking
  • <00:15:04.480> expenses<00:15:05.199> like are generating ratemaking expenses like
  • are generating ratemaking expenses like $3.5<00:15:06.320> million.
Keywords: 919, house, all
Summary: The committee heard House File 76, as amended by the adopted A1 amendment, and the chair moved the bill to be re-referred to the general register. The bill would limit the amount investor-owned utilities can charge ratepayers for executive compensation, capping recoverable pay for the top 10 executives at the governor’s salary. Representative Greenman argued the measure would protect customers from paying for lavish executive pay and said it would not affect what executives are paid, only what can be recovered from ratepayers. She cited recent Public Utilities Commission action and ongoing rate cases as evidence the issue is real and recurring. Supportive testimony came from a Minneapolis resident describing financial hardship and rising utility bills, a local worker who said customers have no choice of utility provider and should not fund monopoly executive pay, and advocates from the Energy and Policy Institute and Utility Reform Now, who said ratepayers should not subsidize excessive compensation and that the bill is a targeted reform. Xcel Energy and CenterPoint Energy opposed the bill’s premise by defending the current regulatory process. Their representatives said the PUC already reviews executive compensation in rate cases, generally allows only limited recovery, and has used that process for decades. Xcel also emphasized its affordability programs and said executives help secure savings and investments for customers. Members discussed whether the legislature should set a bright-line rule or leave the issue to the PUC. Representative Greenman said the bill is needed because the PUC process can take years and the legislature should establish a clear standard for all investor-owned utilities. Some members supported the bill as a response to an affordability crisis and the lack of consumer choice, while others said the legislature should focus on broader energy-cost issues and existing regulatory tools. The committee did not take a final vote on the bill in the portion of the meeting provided, but the amendment was adopted and the bill was moved for re-referral to the general register.
TX

Texas 89th Regular

Natural Resources Apr 2nd, 2025

Natural Resources

Transcript Highlights:
  • We also continue to push for, and we heard some testimony on it just recently, on alternative water supply
  • ideas and projects, and making sure that we're utilizing all of those alternative water supply projects
NH

New Hampshire 2025 Regular Session

Senate Energy and Natural Resources (03/11/2025)

Energy and Natural Resources

Transcript Highlights:
  • The SEC is a land use body, not a ratemaking body, and expanding the OCA's role in these proceedings
  • The SEC is a land use body, not a ratemaking body, and expanding the OCA's role in these proceedings
  • The SEC is a land use body, not a ratemaking body, and expanding the OCA's role in these proceedings
  • The SEC is a land use body, not a ratemaking body, and expanding the OCA's role in these proceedings
Keywords: 1191, senate, all
HI

Hawaii 2026 Regular Session

TRS Public Hearing 02-03-2026

Transportation

Transcript Highlights:
  • An alternative proposal would be to attach the requirement of a driver improvement class or course or
  • An alternative<01:48:13.840> proposal<01:48:14.320> would<01:48:14.560> be<01:48
  • :14.800> to<01:48:15.119> attach alternative proposal would be to attach alternative proposal
Summary: The committee opened by explaining hearing procedures, including a two-minute oral testimony limit and that decision-making would follow after testimony. It then took up SB 20008, which would set 55 mph as the maximum speed limit on all parts of the DKI/Saddle Road highway. The bill’s introducer described it as a response to safety concerns and noted prior public opposition when the speed limit was lowered from 60 mph; the Hawaii Police Department was listed in opposition, while DOT and several individuals testified in support. No vote was taken during the portion provided. The committee next heard SB 20009, requiring new plates/tags or emblems for used motor vehicles transferred between private individuals, and SB 2026, which would require drivers approaching stationary vehicles on the shoulder or roadside to slow down and, if necessary, change lanes. The Attorney General supported SB 2026 but recommended narrowing and clarifying the language by removing references to shoulder/roadside, collision or mechanical problem, and other limiting definitions so the duty would apply more broadly and be easier to enforce; AAA and OMA also supported the measure. Members discussed the practical need for a mandatory move-over rule, especially for roadside workers and tow operators, and the committee heard concerns about enforceability on two-lane roads and in accident scenes. SB 2053 was then heard, authorizing electronic signatures on supporting documents used to transfer ownership of total-loss vehicles to insurers without notarization and requiring insurers to indemnify the finance director for claims arising from those electronic title issuances. The Hawaii Insurers Council, Copart, the City and County of Honolulu, and others supported the bill, with Copart describing it as a modernization that would reduce delays for total-loss settlements; technical amendments were requested. The committee also heard SB 2172, which would allow all-terrain vehicles to operate at night if equipped with lights and a slow-moving vehicle emblem, adjust helmet requirements, define utility terrain vehicles, and include ATVs in motor vehicle insurance law. DOT said it could support the bill only if limited to low-speed areas, and the insurance industry warned it could create a new insurance scheme; the City and County of Honolulu opposed while the Hawaii Farm Bureau and an individual supported. Finally, SB 2253 was introduced to expand first-degree negligent injury to include injuries negligently inflicted by intoxicated drivers, with DOT, county prosecutors, and the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office in support; Honolulu prosecutors said they would oppose a proposed amendment because they wanted the language to preserve the offense as a lesser included offense tied to negligent homicide.
HI

Hawaii 2025 Regular Session

CPN Informational Briefing 06-24-2025

Hawaii Senate Floor Meeting

Transcript Highlights:
  • So that's where we adopted performance-based ratemaking.
  • They really are the crux of performance-based ratemaking.
  • PBR offers an alternative to cost of service regulation.
  • PBR offers an alternative to cost that.
  • Because the alternative for HEO, right, and we're only talking HEO. Yeah.
Keywords: 912, senate, all
Summary: The Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee held an informational briefing on the Public Utilities Commission’s performance-based regulation (PBR) framework and the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs’ whistleblower complaint process. Chair Jared Kohole opened the meeting, noted it was informational only with no public testimony, and explained that members would hear presentations and then have an opportunity for questions. The committee heard first from Ulupono Initiative, which provided background on why utilities are regulated, how Hawaii’s cost-of-service model and rate cases work, and why PBR was adopted to shift utility incentives away from a capital-investment bias and toward performance, efficiency, cost control, and policy goals such as renewable energy and reliability. Ulupono described Hawaii’s PBR structure as a five-year multi-year rate plan with annual revenue adjustments, a customer dividend, a Z factor for extraordinary exogenous events, and an exceptional project recovery mechanism for large projects. It also outlined performance incentive mechanisms tied to renewable portfolio standard progress, interconnection speed, reliability, and shared savings. The presentation said the current docket is evaluating a possible hybrid approach that would combine forward-looking forecasting with historical results, and Ulupono advocated for stronger incentives, arguing the current rewards are too small relative to utility revenues and should be more meaningful to better align utility behavior with legislative intent. The PUC then presented its own overview, emphasizing that the PBR docket is open and active and that the briefing was limited to the record to avoid ex parte concerns. The commission described the development of PBR in Hawaii through multiple phases beginning in 2018: an initial collaborative phase to set goals, a formal contested-case phase that produced the initial framework, later phases adding scorecards, reported metrics, and additional performance incentive mechanisms, and subsequent refinements including sunset of some mechanisms and adjustments after the August 2023 Maui wildfires. The PUC said the framework is intended to be customer-centric, administratively efficient, and protective of utility financial integrity, and that current work includes evaluating how to balance forward-looking and historical test-year approaches within the rebasing process. No votes or formal actions were taken at the briefing.
HI

Hawaii 2025 Regular Session

CPC-CPN Informational Briefing 01-27-2025

Hawaii Senate Floor Meeting

Transcript Highlights:
  • As a fair plan, HPIA does not build any profit into its ratemaking calculations; we're just striving
  • As a fair plan, HPIA does not build any profit into its ratemaking calculations; we're just striving
  • As a fair plan, HPIA does not build any profit into its ratemaking calculations; we're just striving
  • The other alternative would be to actually hire the staff to do the underwriting and do the claims.
  • The other alternative would be to actually hire the staff to do the underwriting and do the claims.
Keywords: 912, senate, all
FL

Florida 2025 Regular Session

Banking and Insurance Mar 17th, 2025

Transcript Highlights:
  • AS A PUBLIC MODEL THE INFORMATION WILL STRENGTHEN THE MODEL FOR PURPOSES OF RATEMAKING PURPOSES AND LAST
  • INFORM FIREFIGHTERS ABOUT CHEMICAL HAZARDS IN THE PROTECTIVE GEAR AND REQUIRE THEM TO ISSUE SAFER ALTERNATIVES
Keywords: 999, senate, all
MN

Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

House Commerce Finance and Policy Committee 3/24/26

Commerce Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:
  • the potential for consumer harm if the arrangements are being inappropriately represented as an alternative
  • the potential for consumer harm if the arrangements are being inappropriately represented as an alternative
  • disclose the APR to allow borrowers to easily compare earned wage advance products to existing alternatives
  • .<01:15:15.520> The<01:15:15.760> proposed<01:15:16.159> legislation alternatives
  • The proposed legislation alternatives.
HI

Hawaii 2026 Regular Session

EEP Public Hearing - Thu Feb 19, 2026 @ 9:45 AM HST

Energy & Environmental Protection

Transcript Highlights:
  • Department of Transportation to adopt rules by January 1st, 2028, governing a clean fuel standard for alternative
Summary: The committee on Energy and Environmental Protection heard testimony on three measures related to cleaner fuels. On HB 1986, which would require the Department of Transportation to adopt rules for a clean fuel standard by January 1, 2028 and include reporting and public informational sessions, testimony was largely supportive from state commissions, fuel companies, airlines, and other industry and advocacy groups. Supporters said the bill would create a long-term framework for reducing emissions and developing cleaner fuels in Hawaii. Opposition came from Energy Justice Network, which argued that so-called clean fuels are not carbon-free, would be costly, and could delay a needed transition to electrification. The department later said it was monitoring the bill and was concerned about costs. No vote or final action was taken in the hearing. The committee then heard HB 1694, a sustainable aviation fuel tax credit bill that would provide a per-gallon credit for SAF, cap annual credits at $20 million, require reporting, and sunset in 2035. The Department of Taxation testified on administration, while the Department of Transportation said it supported the measure as a short-term strategy to jump-start SAF until the clean fuel standard ramps up. Airlines, fuel companies, the Hawaii Food Industry Association, the Hawaii Renewable Fuels Coalition, and others supported the bill, saying it would send a market signal, help close the cost gap with conventional jet fuel, and encourage local production and investment. Opponents, including Energy Justice Network, Life of the Land, and Ted Metros, argued the bill would be expensive, could lock in a transitional fuel system, and would not produce enough fuel to meet demand. Committee members asked about the likely impact and the share of total fuel demand the credit could support; DOT said the supported gallons would be only a very small percentage of annual demand and that the credit was intended to work alongside the future clean fuel standard. Finally, the committee took up HB 1695 HD1 on renewable fuel, which expands the renewable fuels production tax credit. Testimony was again mixed but generally supportive from the Department of Transportation, Department of Taxation, Island Energy Services, airlines, the Tax Foundation, Pana Pacific, and the Hawaii Farm Bureau. Supporters said the measure would encourage local feedstock production, create agricultural opportunities, and help attract investment in renewable fuels. Pana Pacific requested an amendment to explicitly include camelina in the definition of renewable feedstocks. Opponents, including Energy Justice Network and Life of the Land, repeated concerns about cost, imported feedstocks, and the risk of undermining full electrification goals. The hearing transcript does not show any vote or final committee action on HB 1694 or HB 1695 HD1.