This course addresses the role of public utility regulators with an emphasis on the role of the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) in regulating electricity and gas utilities. The course will also focus on the development of North American and international models. More specifically, the course will address the regulation of rates charged by “natural monopoly” utilities including: the concept of just and reasonable rates; the principles of cost of service rate making; the components of a utility’s revenue requirement; regulating quality of service; regulating publicly owned utilities; and alternatives to traditional cost of service rate making. Additionally, the course will address the role of regulators in awarding franchise rights to serve particular communities, and the role of regulators in regulating competitive aspects of the electricity and gas sectors from the perspective of consumer protection and the perspective of encouraging competition. The regulatory process will also be discussed with an emphasis on a real world example of an OEB case.