Warrington center using AI to solve infrastructure regulation problems

The Public Utility Research Center (PURC) at Warrington is home to a wealth of knowledge on infrastructure regulation. But when companies or governments around the world had specific questions, it was tough for them to dig through large amounts of existing research to find the answer.

That’s when the idea of ChatPURC was formed. The AI tool, which is the first and only resource of its kind in infrastructure regulation, searches through more than 800 research papers to find answers.

“When people had specific questions, we had to go through research as much as we could, and even with a search function, it was still tough to do,” PURC Director Dr. Mark Jamison said. “When the opportunity came up to let AI find answers for people, we jumped on it.”

The idea originated when Jamison saw a friend at The Technology Policy Institute in Washington D.C. create a similar option for their industry. Led by Rebecca Beachy and a team of students, PURC worked to add regulatory research papers dating back to the 1970s to the tool. 

ChatPURC debuted to a course taught in Gainesville in June 2025. With more than 50 people representing 20 countries in attendance, Jamison used the tool in sessions to help them solve regulatory problems their countries were facing. Using the large number of historical papers, participants quickly learned about previous problems in their country or took note of how other countries solved similar problems.

The next step is continuing training for high level professionals in utility regulation. These courses are often relevant for only small groups – between 30-40 people around the world – that need a specific level of expertise. ChatPURC will create customized training for them. They’ll go through materials, work on a report and ultimately present it to PURC staff and peers. Their research will then go into ChatPURC to continue building a dynamic repository of the latest and most impactful research.

“ChatPURC will enhance how we teach,” Jamison said. “They’re creating the knowledge, letting others use it and demonstrating their knowledge in a live arena.”