Energy Consultants
Services
BWMQ is an energy consulting firm that provides thorough analytical expertise and high-powered advocacy across a wide range of energy issues at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and state regulatory agencies.
Highlighted Services
BWMQ assists clients in assessing their business risk, determining appropriate proxy groups, and supporting the appropriate return on equity in NGA Section 4 and Section 5 cases.
BWMQ assists in the setting of “proper and adequate” depreciation rates with an assessment of the remaining economic life of the facilities as well as the retirement distribution curve for plant in service.
BWMQ assists clients with all areas of state and federal income tax issues, such as income tax allowance, accumulated deferred income taxes (ADIT), and excess differed income taxes (EDIT).
BWMQ has unsurpassed experience assisting clients in obtaining market-based rate authorization at the FERC for natural gas firm and interruptible storage service, firm and interruptible wheeling service, and other hub services. BWMQ assisted an applicant in receiving market-based rate authorization in the only fully-litigated natural gas storage market-based rate petition.
BWMQ provides the terminal abandonment cost that will be incurred upon the end of the facility’s useful economic life, which must be recovered from today’s ratepayers.
Public Utility Rate Regulation
BWMQ provides clients with assistance in preparing a variety of electronic filings at the FERC, including but not limited to, eTariff, Index of Customers, and the MBR Database filings.
Brown Williams can assist in the development of fully allocated rate models which bring together the myriad of costs into a single interrelated cost and revenue study suitable for section 4 filings and section 5 responses. Some areas include:
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Establishing Rate Base
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Allocation and Rate Design
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Setting Return on Equity
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Calculating Cost of Debt
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Estimating Terminal Decommissioning
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Setting Depreciation Rates
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Deriving Corporate Taxes
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Functionalizing Costs
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BWMQ has wide experience in all facets of crude oil and refined product pipelines rate matters, including cost of service, rate design, federal and state taxes, and prudency issues.
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Annual Indexing
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Cost of Service
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Oil Ratemaking Methodologies
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Trans-Alaska Pipeline System
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Trended Original Cost
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BWMQ supports intrastate entities seeking to provide interstate transportation and/or storage services using either state-approved rates or cost of service rates.
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Hinshaw Pipelines
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Statement of Operating Conditions
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Intrastate Applications
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BWMQ assists clients working under RTO, ISO, or TRANSCO structures to craft tariff provisions, develop transmission pricing parameters, and power sales.
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Congestion Management
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Zonal/Grid Rates
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Ancillary Services
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Revenue Allocations
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Grid Expansion Costs
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Treatment of Pre-Exiting Agreements
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Public Utility Advisory Services
Energy infrastructure is the backbone of the energy industry, providing the foundation for reliable service offerings and the operational flexibility customers have increasingly come to expect. Regulatory processes are evolving toward earlier communication with stakeholders to identify and resolve issues, as well as coordination and concurrent action among agencies responsible for various aspects of the project. BWMQ has the expertise to guide you through the certificate process and reach a successful conclusion. We stay current with regulatory developments and will advise you on how any new policies and regulations might affect your project.
BWMQ provides clients with assistance in preparing Natural Gas Act (NGA) Section 7(c) certificate applications for new energy projections in compliance with FERC regulations.
The Natural Gas Act requires a showing of “public convenience and necessity” for acquisitions or abandonments that materially impact the services provided to ratepayer. BWMQ guides clients through the policies and precedents that shape the application processes and Commission decisions on granting section 7 filings.
BWMQ advises clients on numerous FERC compliance matters to ensure adherence to NAESB standards, section 7 certification conditions, and various section 4 settlement conditions.
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Certificate Conditions
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Forms & Reports
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BWMQ Interstate Natural Gas Pipeline FERC Compliance Manual
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NAESB Requirements
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Tariff Terms & Conditions
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BWMQ supports clients with expert witness representation on almost all aspects of FERC administrative law rate cases.
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Cost of Service
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Depreciation
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Terminal Decommissioning
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Cost Functionaliation
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Cost of Capital
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Income Tax Allowance
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Billing Determinants & Rate Design
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Cost Allocations
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Brown Williams provides consulting services on a wide variety of competition and market power issues that present both opportunities and challenges to industry participants and regulatory agencies, including the FERC.
We have the expertise and personnel to help you, whether you are trying to take advantage of a new opportunity, protect yourself against a competitor, or evaluate the market from a regulatory or antitrust perspective.-
Market-Based Rates Consulting
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Market Power Assessments and Supporting Testimony
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Market Power Mitigation
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Mergers and acquisitions are subject to regulation by the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission and in many instances by other regulatory agencies. We provide testimony, expert advice and economic studies to enable you to achieve approval of these transactions. We provide information to providers of financing for these transactions to enable you to clear the due diligence financing process.
BWMQ has the knowledge and experience with regulatory accounting and tax issues that you need to address regulatory policies concerning tax recovery and rate base computations under particular business structures and the impacts of important developments, such as acquisitions, tax rate and base changes. BWMQ can assist you with corporate and partnership tax reorganizations and the related income tax implications.
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FERC Accounting
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Forensic Accounting
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Utility Tax Accounting
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BWMQ aids both intrastate and interstate utilities employing FERC’s Uniform System of Accounts. Such assistance includes mapping internal accounts to appropriate FERC accounts necessary in providing utility services, provides assistance to clients establishing or revising internal accounting manuals and providing T-account solution for complex accounting transactions.
Public Utility Filing Services
BWMQ provides clients with assistance in preparing a variety of electronic filings at the FERC, including but not limited to, eTariff, Index of Customers, and the MBR Database filings.
BWMQ provides training on a variety of cost of service and rate design topics.
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BWMQ Cost of Service Classes
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Customized Training & Recruiting Services
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FERC Standards of Conduct
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Gas Pipeline Cost of Service Workshops
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Gas Pipeline Rate Design Workshops
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On September 19, 2008, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC and/or Commission) issued a Final Rule in Order No. 714, entitled Electronic Tariff Filings. Upon implementation of this rule, the Commission will no longer accept tariff filings in paper format. By April 1, 2010, the Commission requires existing regulated electric utilities, interstate natural gas companies, and regulated oil pipeline companies to electronically file their baseline (i.e., existing) tariffs in the extensible markup language (XML) schema described in Order No. 714. After April 1, 2010, all proposed tariff provisions and related items (including intrastate natural gas pipelines’ NGPA rates and operations conditions) must be filed electronically using the new standards discussed in Order No. 714.
BWMQ assists its clients to meet the requirements of Order No. 714. The BWMQ FERC eTariff Program is an in-house program that supports natural gas, electric, and oil pipeline eTariff filings. BWMQ provides a cost-effective, pay-as-you-go methodology for assisting clients with their eTariff filings. More specifically, BWMQ offers the following services to companies impacted by Order No. 714:
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Assist clients with their Company Registration with the FERC, if needed.
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Format tariffs using the new sectional format.
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Research previously filed tariffs for proper codes used previously, if necessary.
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Assemble tariff filings, changes and/or proposals into XML filing packages.
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Test the XML filing packages in the Commission’s eTariff Sandbox for possible errors and troubleshoot any errors that may arise.
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Act as the eFiler on behalf of clients
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Consult and advise clients when formatting and planning future tariff filings under the changes implemented by Order No. 714.
BWMQ helps natural gas clients draft and file tariffs and Section 311 filings. BWMQ develops full FERC Gas Tariffs for interstate pipeline and storage companies. In addition, BWMQ assists clients in revising or updating specific provisions of their FERC Gas Tariffs, i.e, Rate Schedules, Terms and Conditions, NAESB, etc.
With regard to oil pipelines, our services include assistance in adjusting tariffs for indexing, cost of service initial rate filings, settlement rates, and calculating the effects on tariff surcharges by system additions.
For our electric clients, BWMQ provides assistance in filing Market Based Rate Authorizations, Change in Status requests, etc. BWMQ also provides assistance in developing their terms and conditions of service 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.
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BWMQ assists clients with EQR filings using the latest filing requirements saving clients time and expenses.
BWMQ's consultants have participated in hundreds of Section 205 and Section 206 rate case proceedings at the Commission. We offer the specialized knowledge, testimony and exhibits on the detailed cost of service and rate design issues that make a difference in successful outcomes for our clients. We have provided detail testimony and exhibits on cost of service rate case issues that include: operation and maintenance costs, return on equity, cost of debt, proxy group companies, federal, state, local and other tax issues, accumulated deferred tax issues, cost classification, cost allocation and rate design issues.
Our FERC clients regularly utilize the knowledge base of BWMQ to address transmission rates, cost based power rates, reliability must run rates, ancillary rates and reasonable terms and conditions of service. BWMQ has a strong track record in achieving successful outcomes for our clients. Our witnesses have years of testimony experience in administrative law proceedings, the kind of experience that provides in-depth analysis and clear and concise explanations of even the most difficult regulatory issue.
Our experts can offer valuable insights into the regulatory issues that arise in the evolving world of FERC regulation. See our comprehensive litigation support page to find out how we may help your firm through a regulatory hearing at FERC.
BWMQ's consultants have participated in hundreds of Section 4 and Section 5 rate case proceedings at the Commission. BWMQ offers specialized knowledge, testimony and exhibits on the detailed cost of service and rate design issues that make a difference in successful outcomes for its clients.
BWMQ has provided detailed testimony and exhibits on rate case/cost of service issues that include operation and maintenance costs, return on equity, cost of debt, proxy group companies, federal, state, local and other tax issues, depreciation and negative salvage, accumulated deferred tax issues, cost classification, cost allocation and rate design issues. BWMQ's FERC regulated interstate natural gas pipeline clients regularly utilize the knowledge base of BWMQ to address the usual cost of service issues and often unique and novel issues in FERC rate case proceedings.
BWMQ has a strong track record in achieving successful outcomes for clients in FERC Section 4 and 5 rate case proceedings. BWMQ witnesses have years of testimony experience in administrative law proceedings, the kind of experience that provides in-depth analysis, and clear and concise explanations of even the most difficult regulatory issue. BWMQ' experts can offer valuable insights into the regulatory issues that arise in the evolving world of FERC regulation. See the comprehensive litigation support page to find out how BWMQ can help guide your firm through a regulatory hearing at FERC.BWMQ can prepare for its clients all of the XBRL electronic financial filings required by the FERC.
