Description
Electric power producers and utilities are traditionally highly regulated industries. At federal, state and local levels, numerous policy issues directly impact these companies and their customers. Such issues may include environmental regulation, energy security, changes in regulatory models to accommodate a changing utility business model, and the unbundling of utility services and rates. Companies have a strong interest in not only staying informed of regulatory policy changes at the federal and state levels, but also influencing policy and regulation changes.
The role of the regulatory affairs function is growing in strategic importance and value given a number of factors in the marketplace, including:
- a quickening pace of regulatory activities and policy changes in many states and at the federal level,
- desire to strike a better balance of regulatory treatment between utilities and consumers,
- a push for greater prioritization of conflicting policy positions among business units,
- regulatory recognition and recovery of stranded costs with an increased penetration of distributed generation, and
- the power of speaking to policymakers with one influential voice.
We developed this report to examine and compare the budgets and spending practices, staffing levels, organizational structure composition, reporting relationships, and projections for future changes in budgets, staffing and structure of electric power producers’ and utilities’ regulatory affairs functions. The content for this report was gathered directly from senior-level regulatory affairs executives (vice presidents, directors and department heads) at independent power producers (IPPs), investor-owned and privately-owned electric utilities, public power and municipal utilities, cooperative utilities, and competitive retail energy suppliers, using primary research methodologies.
Data and Insights Included in This Report
- Regulatory affairs department budgets
- Regulatory affairs budget outsourcing
- Projections for changes to regulatory affairs budgets in 2017, 2018 and 2019, including factors driving those changes
- Regulatory affairs staffing headcounts by level
- Trends and analysis of companies’ future plans for staffing in 2017, 2018 and 2019, including factors driving changes to regulatory headcounts
- Analysis of regulatory affairs organizational structures (stand-alone departments vs. multi-functional departments which include other functions, such as government affairs, public affairs, market strategy, etc.)
- Comparisons of centralized, decentralized and matrixed organizational structures
- Reporting relationships to executive management
- Plans for re-structuring regulatory affairs departments in 2017 and 2018
- Assessments of the efficacy of organizational structures in helping to accomplish key business objectives
Why Buy This Report
- Benchmark regulatory affairs budgets and spending practices at other electric utilities and power producers
- Compare your department’s staffing resources to those of other companies
- Right-size your department’s staffing levels
- Make the case to management for additional staffing resources
- Understand how organizational structure supports or hinders business performance
- Inform decisions about departmental reorganizations
Report Contents:
Executive Summary
Summarizes the key findings of our research and develops implications and recommendations
Analysis of Companies Analyzed and Executives Consulted in This Study
Provides summary information and insights about the companies that we examine in this report and the executives who contributed to this research.
Regulatory Affairs Budget Allocations and Analysis
Includes analysis of regulatory affairs budgets, outsourcing, projections for future spending changes, and related trends at benchmarked companies.
Regulatory Affairs Organizational Structure Insights and Analysis
Delves into the details of companies’ regulatory affairs organizational structures, including analysis of centralized, decentralized and matrix approaches and the advantages/disadvantages of each; assessments of reporting relationships; and how organizational structure impacts companies’ effectiveness at accomplishing key business objectives and serving internal customers and key stakeholders.
Regulatory Affairs Staffing Levels and Analysis
Includes detailed examinations of regulatory affairs staffing levels, including breakdowns of headcounts (as measured in full-time equivalents, or FTEs) at various levels, as well as break-downs of in-house employees versus contract workers. Includes analysis of the reporting relationships at the senior-most levels, including the titles and roles of the top executives that oversee regulatory affairs organizations and the executives to whom they report, and includes executives’ insights and recommendations on these top-line reporting relationships.
Looking to the Future: Projections For and Driving Forces Behind Changes in Regulatory Affairs Staffing
Examines companies’ plans for changes to regulatory affairs staffing levels in 2017, 2018 and 2019 and reasons behind planned and projected staffing changes. Also examines regulatory affairs functional reorganizations and the likelihood of companies modifying their organizational structures in the next few years.
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