Quote:

“... [T]he Commission has claimed to be the representative of the public interest. This role does not permit it to act as an umpire blandly calling balls and strikes for adversaries appearing before it; the right of the public must receive active and affirmative protection at the hands of the Commission.”

Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference v. FPC, 354 F.2d 608, 620 (2d Cir. 1965) (referring to the Federal Power Commission), cert. denied sub nom., Consolidated Edison Co. v. Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference, 384 U.S. 941 (1966).

NRRI's Transition:  A Letter from the Executive Director

Dear Member of the Regulatory Community,

Welcome to the new NRRI and its new web site. On July 18, 2007 NARUC's Board of Directors voted to (a) end NRRI's affiliation with The Ohio State University; and (b) locate NRRI in the Washington, DC area. As of January 1, 2008, these three steps have occurred.

After NARUC's July 2007 vote to depart OSU, I began a search for top regulatory professionals capable of serving our community with excellence. It is a privilege to announce the hiring of Ken Costello (gas), Peter Bluhm (telecommunications), David Denig-Chakroff (water), Nancy Brockway (multi utility issues) and David Magnus Boonin (electricity). We have several more hires to make.

Since most of these individuals had major professional responsibilities in their prior jobs, they will join NRRI gradually over the next few months. As a result, much of this web site remains under construction. While all material from the old web site is here, and we have added much, we have more work ahead. Please bear with us. If you have ideas for the web site, or wish to volunteer to write content, please contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

The 5 by 11 matrix on our home page displays the range of services NRRI will perform for the regulatory community. In each of the 5 industry subject areas electricity, gas, telecommunications, water and multi utility we will provide content ranging from industry at a glance to detailed research reports to on line thought provocation and idea sharing. "Mouse over" any cell to obtain a quick view of the content within; click to access the content.

In closing, a word about The Ohio State University. While now independent of OSU, NRRI remains indebted to OSU for its three decades of support. We extend special appreciation to NRRI's founding Director, OSU Professor Douglas Jones, whose standards of relevance and excellence still guide NRRI; and to Dean William A. Baeslack, III of OSU's College of Engineering, who worked closely with NARUC leadership to facilitate an effective transition from Columbus, Ohio.

Scott Hempling
Executive Director
January 2, 2008