To the untrained eye, beautiful skylines, impressive subway systems, and lively public parks characterize great cities. However, there are also a number of invisible design features that characterize the best cities – urban growth boundaries, transit-oriented development, walking and biking pathway density, and small blocks are among the most important of these design features.

As with any investor-owned company, managers of investor-owned utilities are obligated to maximize shareholder value. So how can regulators help to align shareholder value creation with the public interest? Enter performance-based regulation.

California wants to reduce emissions 40% by 2030. Smart growth policies would help the state achieve this target, save the government billions on infrastructure and health costs, and save residents thousands annually in transportation costs, all while empowering economic growth and housing equality.

This article responds to Pilita Clark’s recent Financial Times article, “Solar and wind could end up victims of their own success,” in which she argues that increasing zero-marginal cost renewables on the grid threatens electricity market revenue. Sonia Aggarwal responds that this is only the case because electricity market operations are out-of-date, and ought to be updated to take advantage of new opportunities like renewables.

In order to develop a dynamic bulk electric grid, system planning and operation — as well as how entities are compensated for the energy, power, ancillary services, and emissions reductions — must evolve together.

The electricity sector is already in the midst of profound change, with new technological and market forces challenging utilities’ business models. These technology developments will help de-carbonize the utility sector at a very low cost, and at the same time increase reliability — but only if utilities rethink their business model, which in turn requires that states’ utility regulations are reformed.

Today’s distribution system faces some similar market conditions to those decades ago. Rising utility costs and falling sales due to the emergence of distributed energy resources (DERs) have led to rising retail rates, falling revenues, and cries of a new “death spiral”. DERs can provide services more cost-effectively than traditional utility assets, but their adoption has met resistance from many utilities.

Electricity, no matter where it comes from or how it is produced, is fundamental to life in the 21st century. Access to electricity provides us with life’s most basic necessities. Yet much of the world remains in the dark. One of the world’s regions left furthest behind during this electricity evolution is Sub-Saharan Africa.

Price declines in residential solar and battery systems like Tesla’s Powerwall mean solar-plus-battery systems will soon be found in homes and businesses at the grid’s edge around the country. But what role will utilities play in the fast-approaching storage shift?

America’s power sector is undergoing a dramatic transformation, challenging regulators to make sure policy keeps up with technological innovation, often leaving utilities in a tumultuous position – but a new set of policies can put us on the path toward a cleaner, more affordable, and more reliable future.