Full Title: How to Leverage Cost Allocation to Enable Rapid, Affordable, and Equitable Electrification
Author(s): Jacob Becker, Joseph Daniel, Becky Li, and Roberto Zanchi
Publisher(s): Rocky Mountain Institute
Publication Date: November 15, 2025
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Electrification of buildings and transportation, alongside rapid growth in distributed energy resources (DERs), is reshaping where and how power is consumed. To keep pace, utilities must make timely distribution investments so that grids are ready to support new loads when they come online. A major challenge for regulators is not only considering when and where these investments are needed, but also how their costs should be fairly allocated across the customer base in ways that maintain affordability.
This report highlights three different approaches from public utility commissions in Minnesota, Massachusetts, and New York. Using these case studies, (it or we) examines how cost allocation can be applied during proactive distribution planning to help state regulators achieve affordability and state policy goals.