Energy regulation in North America

Join us for a conversation with a former energy policymaker and regulator from the largest and most active U.S. state on climate (California) and a leading Canadian academic on North American energy regulation and policy.

Former California Public Utility Commissioner Dian Grueneich (Stanford) and Director of the Institute for Science, Society and Policy Dr. Monica Gattinger (University of Ottawa) will discuss a range of topics including how regulators approach energy projects that cross national borders, the role of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) in transnational electricity policy, and how climate change and energy policy are becoming increasingly intertwined.

From the speakers' bios

Dian Grueneich is a nationally and internationally recognized energy and regulatory policy expert. Dian served as a Commissioner on the California Public Utilities Commission from 2005 to 2010. She led its work on energy efficiency, transmission planning and permitting, Western energy, smart grid, and implementation of California's climate change law. Dian is affiliated with Stanford University's Precourt Institute for Energy, the Shultz-Stephenson Energy Policy Task Force, and the Bill Lane Center for the American West. In 2016, Dian launched the Stanford Shultz Energy Fellowship program, which places graduate and undergraduate Stanford students in California and Western energy agencies. She also produced and taught the Stanford California and Western Energy Lecture Series and a course on Building Energy Efficiency offered by the Stanford Center for Professional Development. Dian has received numerous awards for her work, including the NARUC Clean Energy Award and eeGlobal Forum's first "Visionary Award" for Leadership in Developing California's Long-Term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan. She has also served on external advisory committees to the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Dian is currently a Senior Fellow with the New Buildings Institute and serves on the Board of the Association of Women in Water, Energy and the Environment. She is a graduate of Stanford University and holds a J.D. from Georgetown University.

Monica Gattinger is Director of the Institute for Science, Society and Policy, Full Professor of Political Studies, and Founder/Chair of Positive Energy at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Gattinger is an award-winning researcher and highly sought-after speaker, adviser, and media commentator in the energy and arts/cultural policy sectors. Her innovative research program convenes business, government, Indigenous, civil society and academic leaders to address complex policy, regulatory and governance challenges. She has published widely in the energy and arts/cultural policy fields, with a focus on strengthening decision-making in the context of fast-paced technological change and markets, changing social values, and lower levels of trust in governments, industry, science and expertise. Gattinger is a Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, board member of the Clean Resource Innovation Network, and serves on advisory boards for the Institute on Governance, the National Research Council Canada, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, Pollution Probe, and the University of Calgary. She Chairs the Editorial Board of the University of Ottawa Press and is a columnist for JWN Energy's Daily Oil Bulletin. Monica received the 2020 Clean50 Award for her thought leadership in the energy sector. She holds a Ph.D. in public policy from Carleton University.

North American Colloquium

This event is part of the 2020-21 North American Colloquium (NAC), organized by the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy with generous support from the Meany Family Foundation, and co-sponsored by the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto and the Center for Research on North America at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. The objective of the NAC is to provide a forum that strengthens a wider North American conversation and more fruitful trilateral cooperation between Canada, Mexico and the U.S. Sign up for more information about this year's NAC here.

Faculty Expert

Barry Rabe

J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy

Rabe examines the political feasibility and durability of environmental and energy policy, with a particular emphasis on efforts to address climate change in the U.S. and other federal systems. His most recent books examine the politics of carbon pricing and the limitations of unilateral executive branch policy actions. Current research explores the politics of intensive but short-lived greenhouse gases, such as methane and HFCs. Recent policy engagement includes work with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Interior, the Department of Commerce, and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.

• climate policy
• climate
• International Policy Center
• North American Colloquium Climate Series
• energy and electricity
• energy and environment
• North American Colloquium