The Brattle Group has assisted both pipeline applicants and shippers in many natural gas and oil pipeline rate proceedings over the past twenty-five years. We have a keen understanding of the ratemaking and regulatory policy issues affecting the natural gas and oil pipeline industries at both state/provincial and federal levels. We understand the practical details of regulatory accounting as well as the broader issues surrounding adequate investor returns, appropriate price signals, proper rate design, and the need for economic efficiency. Our testimony experience on major regulatory policy issues is also extensive, and we often provide economic analysis on issues of industry restructuring, access, prudence, and stranded cost recovery.
In ratemaking, we have extensive experience with all aspects of traditional cost of service analysis as well as alternative methods such as market-based rates, incentive regulation, and negotiated rates. Our work in cost-of-service proceedings spans the full spectrum of issues that typically arise in such proceedings, including cost of service, cost allocation, rate design, rate base derivation, appropriate operations and maintenance expense levels (including parent company overhead cost allocations), allowed return, test year billing determinants, appropriate treatment of discounts, and analysis of business risk. We also have extensive experience analyzing pipeline applications for market-based rates. We have assisted clients in settlement negotiations by modeling the transportation rates of the pipeline and analyzing the sensitivity of rates to alternative rate designs or cost of service assumptions. We offer insights into unanticipated effects of provisions being proposed by opposing parties and we provide creative thinking about ways to structure settlement terms.