Electric Industry Services

Below is a description of some electric industry services we provide. Please see Engagements for descriptions of our previous cases and consulting engagements.

Over the past several years, structural changes to the electric segment of the energy industry have been accelerating at the Federal and State level. Brown Williams possesses the expertise needed to help you respond to the challenges presented by these changes. We can help you with industry restructuring impacts, evaluate the value of assets and contracts, address regulatory changes and help to design and implement your service offerings.

Brown Williams provides financial, regulatory filing preparation, litigation and negotiating services to a wide range of electric utilities, independent power companies, energy marketing companies, government entities and trade organizations within the electric segment of the energy industry. We offer these services for wholesale and retail power services, and the transmission and distribution of electric power. We provide cost of service, cost allocation and other services pertaining to power sales, exchanges, transmission, reactive power, and reliability-must run-facilities.

Our electric consulting projects span traditional cost of service and rate case issues and innovative rates within the evolving competitive environment. We are well suited to assist entities to develop innovative incentive and performance-based rate applications for new infrastructure projects, such as Section 219 of the Federal Power Act and FERC Order No. 679. Our expertise in pricing methods includes a menu of non-traditional methods, such as MW-mile rates, incremental cost rates, opportunity cost rates, incentive/disincentive rates, congestion pricing and market-based rates.

We can help you to evaluate and develop strategies to position yourself advantageously within the evolving industry landscape. Our projects have included providing assistance in developing terms and conditions of service; planning capital recovery and providing depreciation rate services; and developing open access transmission tariffs providing “comparable” point-to-point and network services as well as ancillary service tariffs; resolving issues pertinent to pre-existing arrangements and stranded costs; and consulting on the structures of and procedures to be employed by RTOs, ISOs and other independent coordinators of electric transmission services.

Areas of Experience

Alternative Dispute Resolution/Settlement Processes
Ancillary Services Rates, Terms and Conditions
Direct Assignment Facility Costs
Electric Industry Restructuring and Open Access Transmission Tariff rates, terms and conditions
Expert Testimony and Litigation Support Services
Federal and State Regulatory Experience
Fuel Adjustment Clauses
Independent Power Issues
Market Power Assessment and Mitigation
Open Access Transmission Tariffs (OATT)
Performance Based Rate Making
Power Sales Tariffs
Rate Case and Process Management
Rate Design and Pricing for Regulated and Competitive Services
Regulatory and Case Strategy
Reliability Must Run Agreements
Revenue Requirements/Cost of Service
RTO, ISO and Transco Formation
State Retail Distribution Tariffs
Transmission Pricing/FERC Strategy
Unbundled Tariff and Rate Design
Unbundled, Fully Allocated Cost Analysis
Utility and Energy Contract Negotiations
Wholesale Stranded Cost Calculations

Examples of Experience

Confidential Client Involved in the Start-Up of an ISO

Analysis and Recommendations

BWMQ's Alan Heintz, reviewed all work products of the various committees (legal, tariff, operations, planning and infrastructure) to determine the likely cost impact on the client of joining the ISO. The issues reviewed included, revenue requirements, congestion management, zonal/grid-wide rates, phase in methods, treatment of the various pre-existing agreements, definition of transmission facilities, revenue allocations, loss calculations and recovery methods, ancillary services and rates, grid expansion costs recovery methods, and ensuring that good price signals were given participants to ensure economic decisions.

Economic Analysis and Rate Design

BWMQ's Alan Heintz worked with the Pricing Workgroup to identify and evaluate the various methods for determining the embedded and incremental costs of the transmission grid, congestion management methods, ancillary services, and cost recovery and revenue allocation mechanisms. The effort involved uniform calculations of the rates for the 25 members and the best method for phasing in the pricing to a single grid-wide rate. Also included were identification of possible cost shifts and customer impacts and sensitivity analyses of the shifts and impacts (including pre-existing agreements and losses) as well as congestion management and treatment of existing contracts.

GridFlorida, DesertStar, GridSouth, Several Independent Transmission Companies

Analysis and Recommendations

BWMQ's Alan Heintz provided advice and recommendations to a wide variety of transmission related entities. This work includes the review of work products from various committees (legal, tariff, operations, planning and infrastructure) to determine the likely cost impact on potential members. The issues reviewed included, revenue requirements, congestion management, zonal/grid-wide rates, phase in methods, treatment of the various pre-existing agreements, definition of transmission facilities, revenue allocations, loss calculations and recovery methods, ancillary services and rates, grid expansion costs recovery methods, and ensuring that good price signals were given participants to ensure economic decisions.

Mid-Continent Area Power Pool ISO/Long Term Tariff

BWMQ's Alan Heintz aided the Rates and Tariffs Task Force on the issues for which decisions would be required before the 26 utilities could operate an ISO. The effort included detailing the issues, noting the interrelated issues, and presenting options on the major issues. The issues included, formula/stated rates and revenue requirements, congestion management, zonal/grid-wide rates, phase in methods, treatment of the various pre-existing agreements, definition of transmission facilities (including DC facilities), revenue allocations, loss calculations and recovery methods, ancillary services and rates, grid expansion costs recovery methods, and ensuring that good price signals were given participants to ensure economic decisions. The effort also included drafting the terms and conditions together with legal counsel.

Transmission/ISO/RT/ITC

BWMQ's Alan Heintz served as Project Manager and Lead Consultant in providing assistance to more than 20 clients or groups of clients with ISO and RTO related issues, including developing transmission pricing strategies, drafting transmission, preparing cost of service analyses and testimony in support of transmission, grid management and ancillary services rate filings, and assisting in developing strategy for litigation and settlement negotiations. Projects include rate design and development of ISO revenue requirements, rate structures, congestion pricing, and rate and non-rate terms and conditions for the Midwest ISO Transmission Owners, DesertSTAR, and Crescent Moon. In addition, assisting individual utilities interested in or participating in Alliance RTO, Grid Florida, Midwest ISO, GridSouth, and SeTrans as well as various Independent Transmission Companies. Specific assignments have also included providing assistance to the Canadian provincial utilities, cooperative, federal, state and municipal utilities. He advised numerous clients on treatment of pre-existing arrangements, losses, ancillary services, generation interconnection agreements, regional out and through transmission rates, allocations of RTO uplift costs, and Reliability Must Run Agreements.

January 6, 2009	THE ENERGY CONSULTING FIRM	Registration