Symposium Explores Policy Options for Better Service Outcomes from the Future Electric Grid

To explore questions confronting the current and future electric power system, Pardee RAND brought together leaders from industry, government, and consumer organizations for an invitation-only symposium on October 30, 2015.

The symposium, sponsored by the Cazier Initiative for Energy and Environmental Sustainability included 6 Pardee RAND faculty members, 4 students, 1 alum who works in the industry, and 6 outside attendees from a range of sectors.

The goal of this symposium was to identify important policy questions related to the present and future electric power system that RAND could help address. The meeting elicited perspectives from private industry, electric utilities, regulatory bodies, and consumers on the challenges, solutions, and implementation barriers associated with building a more robust, resilient, reliable, affordable, and clean electric power system.

Some of the questions discussed included

• What does "improving" electric service mean for different stakeholder groups?
• What are the most important challenges facing these groups today?
• What are the key drivers of change?
• What sorts of solutions — technological, economic, or policy — could help address problems today and in the future?
• What are barriers to implementing solutions, and how can they be overcome?
• What privacy and security challenges are associated with using Smart Grid data?
• How can industry and regulatory stakeholders communicate better when setting policies?

The event helped to educate external participants about RAND, Pardee RAND, and the unique role that RAND can play as a mediator in discussions like these while providing an objective point of view.

The Cazier Initiative will be hosting an event on another topic in the next few months.