The Energy Cost of Service and Natural Gas (ECOSNG) Branch, within the Public Advocates Office, comprises four sections: Revenue Requirements, Operational Costs, Natural Gas, and Cost Analysis. ECOSNG is responsible for representing ratepayer interests in Commission proceedings (e.g., workshops, rulemakings, investigations, and hearings) specifically involving ratemaking issues, which include the following types of proceedings: General Rate Case (GRC), Reasonableness Reviews/Cost Recovery, Energy Cost Adjustment Clause (ECAC), Catastrophic Event Memorandum Account (CEMA), Securitization, balancing and memorandum account reviews, and other proceedings that have financial or policy impacts on ratepayers. ECOSNG is seeking a Public Utilities Regulatory Analyst (PURA) IV to join its Cost Analysis team.
Under the general direction of the Program and Project Supervisor of the Cost Analysis Section, the incumbent is responsible for representing ratepayer interests on issues pertaining to the appropriate revenue requirement and rates associated with proceedings for gas and electric utilities, such as GRCs and Reasonableness Reviews. These cases encompass all aspects of cost of service, such as determining the appropriate levels of various operating expenses and rate base (infrastructure investment) to be recovered through gas and electric rates. The incumbent will be responsible for conducting analyses, discovery, and developing independent forecasts for the most critical and complex functional areas of general rate cases, Reasonableness Reviews, and other proceedings that typically have the greatest impact on consumer rates (i.e., reviewing administrative and general expenses, operations and maintenance (O&M) expenses, capital expenditures (rate base, working cash, infrastructure investment) associated with Grid Activities/Transmission and Distribution, Energy Supply, Customer Communications/Services, Shared Services, Depreciation expenses). The incumbent will prepare written reports and testimony, and present expert witness testimony in formal Commission proceedings. Incumbent will meet regularly with the project coordinator and direct supervisor to keep them apprised of all analyses and project milestones. The incumbent will participate in public hearings before the Commission, assist legal counsel on relevant rate case issues and with legal briefs, and prepare summaries of reports or briefing packages for management.
As needed, the PURA IV will serve as lead analyst or project coordinator/assistant project coordinator for large, intermediate, and/or small energy utilities’ GRCs, Reasonableness Reviews, and other related cost of service proceedings.
