The Financial Research Institute (FRI) was established in 1988 within the College of Business at the University of Missouri-Columbia to promote education, research and service across various areas of finance. Today, the FRI, through its public utility division, provides a neutral environment for stakeholders in the regulated public utility industry to come together to examine, understand, and debate current issues relating to public utility policy.

Annual Public Utility Symposium

REGISTRATION OPENS SPRING 2015

Join us on September 30th, 2015 for a full day of discussion and debate as we explore:

Issues in Infrastructure: Replacement, Resilience and Regulation.

The focus of Symposium 2015 is utility infrastructure and the challenges associated with its replacement and modernization, the extent to which resiliency and sufficiency exists within the utility industries, and how to design more effective regulatory or business models. The Symposium will be developed around three panels which separately discusses each of these issues.

In addition to the three panels, the Symposium will also feature a CEO Panel. The confirmed panelists are Lynn Good, president and chief executive officer of Duke Energy and Pierce Norton, II , president and chief executive officer of ONE Gas, Inc., and Susan Story, president and chief executive officer of American Water.

Panel 1 will examine issues associated with the modernization and replacement of utility physical infrastructure. Included in this discussion will be topics such as the cost recovery of new investment, technological innovation and modernization, mandated environmental investments, and the nature and extent of new infrastructure needs.

Panel 2 will focus on the resiliency and sufficiency of utility infrastructure for the 21^st century. Topics addressed in this panel include the ability of the infrastructure to respond to disruptions originating from a variety of factors, the challenges of physical and cyber security, the reliability and sufficiency of existing infrastructure relative to projected demand growth, and the impact of emerging technologies.

Panel 3 is intended to be an integrative panel with its emphasis on how changes in utility business models and regulatory practices can lead to solutions for many infrastructure challenges. The discussion of business practices will examine how best to attract the investment capital necessary for infrastructure modernization or replacement while considering consumer affordability and access. This panel will also examine how changes in regulatory processes, policies, and procedures can stimulate a more capable, resilient, and efficient utility infrastructure.

State Commission Board Representation

Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma

Advisory Board

The FRI Advisory Board was established in 1988 as an essential component of the FRI. The advisory board includes regulators, industry executives, and consumer representatives, and operates under the leadership of Dr. Stephen Ferris. The board provides financial assistance, offers professional advice, and identifies the FRI's strategic direction.