一种更智能的成本跟踪方法，以支持可负担性

A Smarter Approachto Cost Trackersto Support Affordability Regulatory actions to reinforce utility cost control Authors and Acknowledgments Authors Cara GoldenbergOliver TullyGennelle WilsonXavier Zheng Authors listed alphabetically. All authors from RMI unless otherwise noted. Contacts Gennelle Wilson,gwillson@rmi.orgCara Goldenberg,cgoldenberg@rmi.org Copyrights and Citation Gennelle Wilson, Oliver Tully, Xavier Zheng, and Cara Goldenberg,A Smarter Approach to Cost Trackersto Support Affordability: Regulatory actions to reinforce utility cost control in the United States, RMI, 2026,https://rmi.org/insight/cost-trackers-to-support-affordability. RMI values collaboration and aims to accelerate the energy transition through sharing knowledge andinsights. We therefore allow interested parties to reference, share, and cite our work through the CreativeCommons CC BY-SA 4.0 license.https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. All images used are from iStock.com unless otherwise noted. Acknowledgment The authors would like to acknowledge the faculty and public utilities commission staff who participatedin the third Regulatory Collaborative (Reg Lab) cohort, Taking a Comprehensive Approach to Utility CostContainment. While this report was informed by the presentations, conversations, and discussions withinthe cohort and individuals listed below, the findings, analysis, and conclusions presented here are solelythose of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of cohort participants, reviewers, or theirrespective organizations. The authors also thank the following individuals for their helpful feedback onthis report: Jeff Ackerman,Center for the New Energy EconomyAmy Andrews,Washington Utilities and Transportation CommissionTayler Becker,Michigan Public Service CommissionKen Costello,Independent ConsultantCarl Freedman,Independent ConsultantJennifer Geisenhaver,Indiana Utilities Regulatory CommissionKayla Gibbs,Michigan Public Service CommissionAri Gold-Parker,Energy and Environmental Economics, Inc.Jeff Hall,Massachusetts Department of Public UtilitiesAngela Navarro,Align Energy AdvisorsAnna Schiller,Michigan Public Service Commission Table of Contents Introduction4 Better Managing Cost Tracker Recovery11 Four Regulatory Strategies to Contain Costs Under Cost Trackers12 Understand the size of the problem12Reintroduce the risk of disallowance for tracked costs13Incentivize efficient spending under cost trackers15Strengthen the burden of proof in authorizing new cost trackers16 Additional Ideas to Complement Cost Tracker Reform18 Conclusion19 About RMI Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) is an independent, nonpartisan nonprofit founded in 1982 that transformsglobal energy systems through market-driven solutions to secure a prosperous, resilient, clean energyfuture for all. In collaboration with businesses, policymakers, funders, communities, and other partners,RMI drives investment to scale clean energy solutions, reduce energy waste, and boost access to affordableclean energy in ways that enhance security, strengthen the economy, and improve people’s livelihoods. RMIis active in over 50 countries. Introduction Utility expenditures are on the rise and are projected to grow in the coming years due to a confluenceof drivers including accelerating load growth, replacing aging infrastructure, and modernizing andimproving resilience of the grid. However, increased utility investment is coinciding with an affordabilitycrisis; a large and growing proportion of US households are struggling to afford their energy bills.iThis isincreasing pressure on utilities and utility regulators to contain costs and avoid unnecessary spending tolimit rate increases. At the same time, an increasing percentage of investor-owned utility expenditures are recovered throughcost trackers. Cost trackers are designed to recover specific costs — such as those outside of a utility’scontrol or costs that are particularly unpredictable and volatile — on an expedited basis outside of ageneral rate case. By accelerating cost recovery of certain expenditures, cost trackers can reduce financialrisk for utilities. However, they also can pass costs to customers with shorter and less thorough regulatoryreviews, potentially weakening utilities’ incentives to contain costs. When applied to capital expenditures(capex), trackers can exacerbate capex bias and further misalign utility incentives, leading to increasedenergy burdens. Although cost trackers may be appropriate in some contexts and may be helpful to more closely track utilityinvestments in specific spending categories, we contend that they are currently overutilized. The energyaffordability crisis has created an urgency to examine utility cost recovery frameworks to seek out cost savingswherever possible. We recommend that utility regulators revisit the rationale for the use of trackers, retire costtrackers in instances where they are not necessary, consolidate rele