Why rate cases and IRPs are a sales signal
Investor-owned utilities can't just decide to spend money and send customers the bill. They have to ask their state commission for permission, and they have to explain in public what they plan to build, replace and buy. Those filings sit in searchable online dockets that almost no vendor reads.
The scale right now is hard to ignore. Utilities asked for $18.6 billion in electric and gas rate increases in the first half of 2026, including a record $9.2 billion in the second quarter. Behind those requests are capital plans that S&P Global Market Intelligence projects will approach $1.3 trillion from 2026 through 2030, driven by grid modernization, reliability and new demand from data centers.
Every one of those dollars has to be justified in a filing first. If you know where to look, you can see a utility's spending priorities a year or more before the procurement starts.
What's inside a rate case
A rate case is a utility's formal request to change what it charges customers. The filing usually includes:
- Capital plan. The projects the utility has built or plans to build, which it wants to recover through rates.
- Direct testimony. Written statements from utility executives explaining each program, often with project names, budgets and timelines.
- Data request responses. Answers to detailed questions from commission staff and intervenors, which often reveal more than the original filing.
- Settlement or final order. What the commission actually approved. This is the budget the utility will really spend.
Rate cases often take most of a year to resolve. That gap between filing and decision is your selling window: the utility knows what it wants to buy, but the money isn't committed yet.
What an integrated resource plan tells you
Many states require utilities to file an integrated resource plan (IRP), sometimes called a long-term resource plan. An IRP lays out how the utility will meet demand over the next 10 to 20 years: which plants it will retire, what it will build or buy, and how much it will invest in transmission, storage and demand-side programs.
IRPs are refreshed every few years, and each update triggers a public review. For vendors, the IRP is the long-range map. If a utility plans to add battery storage in 2029, the engineering, interconnection and procurement work starts years earlier.
Tip: IRPs come with stakeholder meetings that are often open to the public. Attending one is one of the easiest ways to learn who runs resource planning at a utility, and what they're worried about.
How to read a filing in 30 minutes
- Find the docket. Go to the commission's site below, open its e-filing or docket search, and search by utility name for recent rate cases or resource plans.
- Start with the application summary. It lists the total request and the major drivers in a few pages.
- Skim the testimony index. Look for witnesses covering your area, like grid modernization, metering, vegetation management, cybersecurity, customer service or water main replacement.
- Search the PDFs for your keywords. Product categories, technologies and phrases like "pilot," "deployment" or "replacement program" will take you straight to the relevant pages.
- Write down names. Witnesses are usually the executives who own those budgets. They're your real buyers.
- Check the final order. Make sure the program you're targeting was actually approved before you build a campaign around it.
All 50 state commissions (plus D.C.)
Every commission publishes its dockets online. Type a state to filter.
| State | Commission | Website |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Alabama Public Service Commission | psc.alabama.gov |
| Alaska | Regulatory Commission of Alaska | rca.alaska.gov |
| Arizona | Arizona Corporation Commission | azcc.gov |
| Arkansas | Arkansas Public Service Commission | apsc.arkansas.gov |
| California | California Public Utilities Commission | cpuc.ca.gov |
| Colorado | Colorado Public Utilities Commission | puc.colorado.gov |
| Connecticut | Public Utilities Regulatory Authority | portal.ct.gov/pura |
| Delaware | Delaware Public Service Commission | depsc.delaware.gov |
| District of Columbia | Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia | dcpsc.org |
| Florida | Florida Public Service Commission | floridapsc.com |
| Georgia | Georgia Public Service Commission | psc.ga.gov |
| Hawaii | Hawaii Public Utilities Commission | puc.hawaii.gov |
| Idaho | Idaho Public Utilities Commission | puc.idaho.gov |
| Illinois | Illinois Commerce Commission | icc.illinois.gov |
| Indiana | Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission | in.gov/iurc |
| Iowa | Iowa Utilities Commission | iuc.iowa.gov |
| Kansas | Kansas Corporation Commission | kcc.ks.gov |
| Kentucky | Kentucky Public Service Commission | psc.ky.gov |
| Louisiana | Louisiana Public Service Commission | lpsc.louisiana.gov |
| Maine | Maine Public Utilities Commission | maine.gov/mpuc |
| Maryland | Maryland Public Service Commission | psc.state.md.us |
| Massachusetts | Department of Public Utilities | mass.gov/orgs/department-of-public-utilities |
| Michigan | Michigan Public Service Commission | michigan.gov/mpsc |
| Minnesota | Minnesota Public Utilities Commission | mn.gov/puc |
| Mississippi | Mississippi Public Service Commission | psc.ms.gov |
| Missouri | Missouri Public Service Commission | psc.mo.gov |
| Montana | Montana Public Service Commission | psc.mt.gov |
| Nebraska | Nebraska Public Service Commission (no retail electric rate regulation; Nebraska is served entirely by public power) | psc.nebraska.gov |
| Nevada | Public Utilities Commission of Nevada | puc.nv.gov |
| New Hampshire | New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission | puc.nh.gov |
| New Jersey | New Jersey Board of Public Utilities | nj.gov/bpu |
| New Mexico | New Mexico Public Regulation Commission | prc.nm.gov |
| New York | New York Public Service Commission | dps.ny.gov |
| North Carolina | North Carolina Utilities Commission | ncuc.gov |
| North Dakota | North Dakota Public Service Commission | psc.nd.gov |
| Ohio | Public Utilities Commission of Ohio | puco.ohio.gov |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma Corporation Commission | oklahoma.gov/occ |
| Oregon | Oregon Public Utility Commission | oregon.gov/puc |
| Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission | puc.pa.gov |
| Rhode Island | Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission | ripuc.ri.gov |
| South Carolina | Public Service Commission of South Carolina | psc.sc.gov |
| South Dakota | South Dakota Public Utilities Commission | puc.sd.gov |
| Tennessee | Tennessee Public Utility Commission | tn.gov/tpuc |
| Texas | Public Utility Commission of Texas | puc.texas.gov |
| Utah | Utah Public Service Commission | psc.utah.gov |
| Vermont | Vermont Public Utility Commission | puc.vermont.gov |
| Virginia | State Corporation Commission | scc.virginia.gov |
| Washington | Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission | utc.wa.gov |
| West Virginia | Public Service Commission of West Virginia | psc.state.wv.us |
| Wisconsin | Public Service Commission of Wisconsin | psc.wi.gov |
| Wyoming | Wyoming Public Service Commission | psc.wyo.gov |
What commission dockets won't show you
State commissions mainly regulate investor-owned utilities. Most municipal utilities set their own rates through a city council or utility board, and many electric cooperatives are governed by their member-elected boards instead of the state commission. Nebraska is the clearest example: it is served entirely by public power, so its commission doesn't regulate retail electric rates.
Those public power and co-op utilities still publish their plans. They just do it in board packets, budgets and capital improvement plans instead of commission dockets. Our guide to how utilities buy explains where to find them.
Sources
- PowerLines: Utilities Request $18.6 Billion in Rate Increases in First Half of 2026
- S&P Global Market Intelligence: US utility capex forecast near $1.3T in 2026–30
- American Public Power Association: About Public Power Fact Sheet (2026)
This page is for general information and is not legal or financial advice. Program details change; confirm with the administering agency before acting.