Participation in Hawaiian PBR Workshops

Mark Newton Lowry, President of PEG Research, was invited to speak at the Hawaii Public Service Commission's third technical conference onPerformance-Based Regulation ("PBR"). The conference was held on November 28 in Honolulu. Dr. Lowry spoke on new needs for performance incentive mechanisms in Hawaii.

Mark Newton Lowry also spoke at the July 23rd PBR workshop in Honolulu. The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission invited Dr. Lowry and made his recent Berkeley Lab study, PBR for a High Distributed Energy Resources Future , a required read for the conference. PBR is already popular in the Aloha State, and recent legislation there has mandated its use in electric utility regulation. This workshop was the first step in a multiyear Commission initiative to retool its PBR approach to meet "utility of the future" challenges.

Hawaiian regulation is closely watched nationally because utilities grapple there with high rooftop solar penetration and a state mandate to transition to 100% reliance on renewable resources. Dr. Lowry is advising the Hawaiian Electric companies in the proceeding.