The Case for Fully Debt-Financed Utilities

Our regulatory regime in the US is based on the Supreme Court decisions in the Hope and Bluefield cases. In both cases the courts clearly limit public utility commission ratemaking discretion while establishing four key principles of ratemaking: 1) value the assets fairly (including adjustments for inflation), 2) provide a reasonable return to both creditors and equity holders, 3) admit that the unique expertise of the commissions should be owed some deference, 4) and that rates should reflect a balance between public and private interests. These…