CAREER SUMMARY
Energy executive who managed the regulatory planning and government affairs function for one of the nation’s leading competitive electricity companies. Consulted closely with other senior executives to devise and implement commercial/regulatory/political strategies to manage risks and position the firm to be successful in competitive wholesale and retail electric markets. Recognized as leader in electric market design and as an expert witness on electric policy and market design matters. Skilled in:
◊ Corporate Strategy/Risk Management ◊ Power Plant Economics
◊ Electric Market Design ◊ Rate Setting and Design
◊ Policy Advocacy ◊ Retail and Wholesale Competition
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Energy Consultant, Adjunct Professor – Rice University, Houston, Texas, 2009 – Present
Provide consulting services across the energy value chain, from generation to customer sales for both electricity and natural gas. Clients include independent power producers, large industrial consumers, and retail electric providers. Sample engagements include:
- Expert testimony on the prudence on continued construction of a coal plant
- Expert testimony regarding special contract pricing for large industrial customers
- Expert testimony regarding interconnection of wind resources at distribution level
- Expert testimony in civil litigation regarding commercial reasonability of retail electric contracts.
- Consulting services to large industrial companies regarding electric market design.
- Consulting services to a medium-sized retail electric provider
- Consulting services to a large retail electric provider/generator regarding market opportunities and regulatory/government affairs.
- Consulting services to a developer of compressed air energy storage on regulatory and government affairs.
- Expert testimony regarding market design, the meaning of PURPA and the appropriate payment to Qualifying Facilities for power provided to the grid.
- Expert testimony in a contract dispute between a retail electric provider and a customer regarding pass-through charges.
- Consulting expert on a purchased power contract between an investor-owned utility and a municipally-owned utility.
- Consulting expert on a merger of regulated utilities.
- Expert testimony on retail rate design.
- Develop and implement advocacy plan to avoid power plant retirements from a proposed policy to ban once-through cooling in a coastal state; manage compliance filing for two power plants.
- Advise on the economics of energy storage technologies.
- Advise on the feasibility of opening additional retail gas markets to competition.
- Advise on how to structure a regulatory and government affairs organization.
Adjunct Professor of Management at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business, specializing in the economics of the electricity value chain, management of risk, and related public policy considerations.
RRI ENERGY (RELIANT ENERGY, INC.), Houston, Texas, 1989-2009
Sr. VP Regulatory Affairs and Market Design, 2007 – 2009
Reporting directly to the CEO, co-managed the company’s national, regional, and state level government, regulatory, community affairs, and communications functions, with emphasis on electricity regulation, competitive market design, and associated legislation. Oversaw a staff of 70 people and a managed a budget of $30 million.
- Managed to an outcome wherein no laws or regulations harmful to the company were passed.
- Analyzed risk associated with the company’s retail business (~ 1.8 million customers) and the wholesale business (~14,000 Mw installed capacity) and implemented regulatory risk mitigation strategies that aligned with corporate vision and goals.
- Coordinated policy between retail and wholesale business units to establish sound policy and design principles and to present a single voice to external stakeholders.
- Testified on electric policy, smart energy, and demand response in legislative, regulatory, and judicial arenas, drawing effectively on significant industry knowledge and experience.
- Achieved outstanding results on employee survey regarding departmental leadership and management capability (100% score on treating employees fairly, holding them accountable, making use of their skills, trusting them to make appropriate decisions, and improving own performance based on employee feedback).
Sr. VP Regulatory Affairs, 2003-2007
- Managed Reliant’s national regulatory and market design efforts and legislative efforts in Texas.
- Achieved Texas PUC ruling on excess mitigation credits that effectively averted requirement that Reliant Energy pay $375 million to CenterPoint Energy to lower stranded cost; and,
- Successfully designed rules at Texas PUC regarding provider of last resort, price to beat, customer protections, and financial standards for retailers.
- Collaborated closely with legislative and executive branches in Texas, including Governor, Lt. Governor, Speaker, Chairs and members of Senate Business and Commerce and House Regulated Industries to achieve:
- Successful transition to retail competition in Texas, creating a political/regulatory environment to allow Reliant’s $500 million contribution margin retail business the opportunity to thrive with appropriate government oversight; and,
- Settlement of the political/regulatory intervention in retail pricing following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The settlement led to a phase-in of price increases which set the stage for a successful 2007 legislative session and emergence into full competition
- Provided expert witness testimony in regulatory, government, and court proceedings.
- Intimately involved in settlement of Reliant Energy’s issues regarding the 2000-2001 California Energy crisis. Led response to FERC’s March 2003 report accusing Reliant Energy of “churning” in its purchases of natural gas for its California power plants.
VP Regulatory Strategy and Planning, 1998 – 2003
Directed Reliant’s Texas regulatory and market design efforts. Responsible for financial forecasting, rates, and capital budgeting for Reliant Energy HL&P through 2001, including analysis of capital investment and mothball decisions, power purchase and sales agreements.
- Created and developed risk adjusted wholesale price forecasting tool that provided a distribution of future prices for use in investment analysis to value real options in the generation fleet and the retail contract portfolio.
- Led regulatory strategy to move Reliant Energy from being a regulated utility to becoming separate companies – a wires-only transmission and distribution utility and a company involved in competitive generation and retail activities.
- Heavily involved in passage and implementation of SB 7, the Texas law that moved ERCOT to a competitive market, including:
- Competitive market design,
- IPO of Reliant Resources, its option to buy Texas Genco, and use of that option price as the stranded cost valuation method for purposes of the statutory stranded cost true-up, and
- Settlement of initial Price to Beat rate, and securitization of regulatory assets worth $760 million.
Various positions in Corporate/Regulatory Planning, 1989 – 1998
Led a variety of processes that involved evaluation and establishment of company’s generation, resource planning, rate setting, and load forecasting, including power plants, energy efficiency, and demand response.
AUSTIN ENERGY, Austin, Texas, 1988 – 1989
Manager, Gas Purchasing and Fuel Planning
Held overall responsibility for purchasing natural gas for the utility’s power plants, as well as planning construction of second gas pipeline to serve power plants.
PUBLIC UTILIY COMMISSION OF TEXAS, Austin, Texas, 1986 – 1988
Fuel Analyst
Investigated prudence of utility fuel and power procurement and integrated resource planning.
BETCHEL GROUP, INC., Houston, Texas, 1981 – 1983
Process Design Engineer
Worked on the Coolwater Coal Gasification Power Plant, the first IGCC ever built.
EDUCATION
Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business, RICE UNIVERSITY, Houston, Texas
Master of Business and Public Management, 1985
Majors – Finance and Entrepreneurship
Honors – Outstanding Finance Student
RICE UNIVERSITY, Houston, Texas
BS, Chemical Engineering, 1981
PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS
Chartered Financial Analyst, No. 12245
Professional Engineer In The State Of Texas, No. 73184
