- Add your name to the contact list to receive information about upcoming program information. Registration to a program is not required.
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ABOUT IPU
The Institute of Public Utilities supports informed, effective, and efficient regulation of the infrastructure-intensive network industries providing essential utility services – electricity, natural gas, water, and telecommunications. We fulfill our mission by providing to the regulatory policy community integrative and interdisciplinary educational programs and applied research on the institutions, theory, and practice of modern economic regulation. IPU is dedicated to regulation in the public interest and uncompromising with respect to the obligations of ethics and integrity in regulatory governance. IPU takes a principled approach to regulation, an empirical approach to regulatory research, and a reasoned approach to structural and regulatory change.
Our expertise includes:
- Economic regulation of utility network industries, including traditional and emerging methods
- Utility market structures, institutional options, and economic performance
- History, structure, and functions of the federal and state public utility commissions
- Utility pricing, cost allocation, and rate design
- Trends in supply, demand, and prices for utility services
- Environmental regulation and integrated resource management
- Utility consumer issues, including service availability and affordability
- Critical utility infrastructure interdependence, investment, siting, and protection
- Market opportunities and limitations, industry restructuring, and regulatory adaptation
- Empirical, interdisciplinary, and comparative methods of public and regulatory policy analysis
The Institute was established in 1965 and operates within the College of Social Science at Michigan State University, the nations prototype land-grant institution. We are located on MSU’s beautiful East Lansing campus and affiliated with several academic department and research centers. The Institute’s neutral analytical and instructional practice is informed by a broad spectrum of traditional and applied academic disciplines including the economics, political science, law, accounting, finance, and engineering. IPU is an independent nonprofit educational and research unit of the university and is entirely self-supporting; contributions to the University help sustain operations, support research, and keep educational programs affordable.
IPU forums address today’s biggest challenges, including the complex integration of markets and economic regulation and the need to enhance regulatory capacity. IPU specializes in providing essential learning and networking opportunities, as well as continuing education credits. Certificates of participation can lead to a Certificate of Regulatory Education. IPU’s diverse program faculty includes nationally recognized university educators and expert practitioners from various perspectives, and known for their insight, experience, and teaching ability.
IPU takes particular pride in our tradition of stewardship, service, and responsiveness to the changing and challenging needs of federal, state, local, and international regulators. IPU enjoys a working relationship with members of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and serves as the university host of the Utility Rate Schools presented by the NARUC Committee on Water. IPU programs also provide professional development opportunities to the various participants in the regulatory process, including consumer and environmental advocates, attorneys, consultants, and utility personnel. We are committed to providing all program attendees with the knowledge and tools they need for success.
Through the Years: A photographic history of the Institute
IPU CORE PROGRAMS
Annual Regulatory Studies Program: "Camp." The Annual Regulatory Studies Program offers the most current, comprehensive, and intensive educational opportunity for commissioners and regulatory professionals from any background or discipline; about 10,000 regulators have attended this program. The course's two-week immersion format provides coverage for both regulatory foundations and fundamentals (Week One) and emerging issues and methods (Week Two). The program is provided exclusively to regulatory commissioners, staff members, and other governmental policy makers. Week One is especially suited to the needs of new regulatory professionals. Week Two is for both new and seasoned practitioners. Concurrent and bonus sessions allow attendees to customize the course with respect to areas of interest and responsibility. Attendees receive a certificate of completion for more than 180 hours of instruction.
Advanced Regulatory Studies Program: Ratemaking; Accounting and Finance; Economics and Evaluation; and Management. The IPU Advanced Regulatory Studies Program is a series of specialized half-day and all-day workshops designed to provide public and private-sector regulatory professionals a unique opportunity to interact and exchange ideas on advanced technical and policy issues. Each half-day or whole-day workshop provides a unique and intensive immersion experience. The workshop emphasizes both discipline-based and sector-specific learning opportunities, interactive instruction and peer-to-peer dialog, advanced analytical methodologies, and theoretical rigor coupled with practical hands-on problems and exercises. The program faculty for the Advanced Program includes nationally known experts that draw from both academic and applied perspectives. A synthesizing theme underlying the program is the complex co-existence of markets and regulation.
Annual Regulatory Policy Conference. The IPU Annual Regulatory Policy Conference focuses on contemporary issues of special importance to the regulatory policy community and provides a unique opportunity for high-level interaction among experts to exchange information and ideas. Pre-conference workshops and integrative panels enhance the educational value of the program. Regulatory commissioners and staff members, federal and state governmental policy makers, utility industry professionals, and academic educators are welcome to attend.
MSU AFFILIATE CENTERS
- Quello Center for Telecommunication Management & Law
- Institute for Public Policy & Social Research
- The Visiting International Professional Program
- Remote Sensing & GIS Research and Outreach Services
- Land Policy Institute
- Institute of Water Research
- Center for Water Sciences
- Center for International Business Education and Research
- Global Community Security Institute
- MSU Global
- College of Law
- College of Communication Arts and Sciences
- School of Labor and Industrial Relations Professional Development Programs
- Department of Agricultural Economics
- Michigan Center for Innovation and Economic Prosperity
- Center for Economic Analysis
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Janice A. Beecher, Director INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC UTILITIES MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY W157 Owen Graduate Hall East Lansing, Michigan 48825-1109 ipu.msu.edu | ipu@msu.edu [mailto] 517.355.1876 phone | 517.355.1854 fax
