Resources
Legislative drafts and explainers on competitive direct equity in utilities
Legislative & Policy
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DownloadModel Legislation — Fair Authorized Investment Returns Act (State)Model state legislation enabling auctions for equity in regulated utilities
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DownloadModel Legislation — Fair Authorized Investment Returns Act (State, Short Form)Condensed version for legislatures that favor shorter bills — abbreviated findings plus the full codified text
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DownloadModel Legislation — Fair Authorized Investment Returns Act (Federal)Federal version of model legislation enabling auctions for equity in regulated utilities
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FAQ — House Bill 2224 (Pennsylvania)Answers to the most common questions on HB 2224's competitive auction mechanism for setting utility ROE — covering the default rate, auction mechanics, legal standard, and credit impact. Written for HB 2224 specifically, but the Q&As apply equally to the auction mechanism in MarketClear's model legislation more broadly
Explainers & White Papers
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LinkExplainer: For-Profit Utilities Are Gouging Customers. Utilities Earn Too Much. There’s a Fix.A short, plain-language introduction for readers new to the issue — how rates and authorized returns are set, why the process produces returns above the cost of capital, and how a competitive auction would fix it — The States Forum, September 2026
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LinkExplainer: Capital Markets Can Solve Surging Power PricesHow competitive auctions can replace regulatory guesswork in setting utility equity returns — RealClearEnergy, October 2025
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DownloadWhite Paper: Rate of Return Equals Cost of CapitalA simple, fair formula to stop investor-owned utilities from overcharging the public — American Economic Liberties Project, January 2025
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Proper Utility ROE Does Not Threaten Credit RatingsA one-page analysis showing that lower authorized utility ROE does not threaten credit ratings — a commission can fully protect credit quality through a small, offsetting adjustment to the debt-equity mix while delivering substantial ratepayer savings
Third Party Research
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LinkWho Pays for Growth? Evidence from Data Centers and the GridRobyn Meeks, Jacquelyn Pless, Zhiyuan Qi & Zhenxuan Wang, MIT CEEPR Working Paper 2026-13, June 2026 — Finds data center growth raised average US retail electricity prices, with the effect concentrated among investor-owned utilities and passed through by way of larger approved rate bases
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LinkRate of Return Regulation RevisitedKarl Dunkle Werner & Stephen Jarvis, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley — Revised March 2025
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LinkThe Utility of FinanceTalley & Azgad-Tromer, Columbia Law School, September 2017 — Examines how authorized returns on equity reflect political and institutional dynamics rather than financial theory