Moving Beyond Auto-Renew: Taking the Next Steps in Cost Tracker Reform

Cost trackers were designed to address specific ratemaking issues — not to become permanent and prevalent features of utility cost recovery. As utility bills continue amid a deepening affordability crisis, regulators and lawmakers have an opportunity to rethink these mechanisms to rein in the potential for undisciplined utility spending.

Building on the report A Smarter Approach to Cost Trackers and the recent article Taking Cost Trackers Off Auto-Renew, this webinar will explore how regulators and policymakers can modernize the way cost trackers are authorized, reviewed, and renewed. Panelists will share their experiences, discuss legislative and regulatory reforms under consideration, and offer practical insights into the opportunities and challenges of implementing reforms.

Participants will learn:

• Why overuse of cost trackers can weaken regulatory review, exacerbate utility spending, and reduce accountability.
• Legislative and regulatory approaches that can provide greater flexibility to modify, sunset, or renew trackers.
• Lessons from states pursuing reforms and what those experiences may mean for other jurisdictions.
• How smarter cost tracker policies can help balance utility cost recovery with affordability.

Whether you’re a public utility commissioner, legislative staff member, consumer advocate, or other interested stakeholder, attendees will leave with tools to address a source of persistently rising costs in an era of widespread affordability concerns.