Competitive Market Strategy Services and Price Studies

In response to the emergence of free market utility competition, utilities have begun taking serious efforts to develop competitive market strategies aimed at insuring future customer retention, and market share maximization in support of their long term financial health. Today, the evaluation and development of proposed courses of action for utilities, consumers, suppliers, and regulators has been moved into the forefront of both the gas and electric utility industry. Both wholesale competition and to a more limited extent, retail competition have moved from the issue of whether there will be competition, to implementation and operational considerations. Most recently, the national move towards formation of Regional Transmission Organizations, presents significant challenges to the future operations of all market participants.

In response to ongoing utility deregulation, and in order to position clients to minimize the risks and maximize the benefits of the emerging free market, ERG provides the following Competitive Market Strategy Services:

• Regulatory and litigation support
• Securitization feasibility and analysis
• Economic/financial feasibility studies
• Market power analysis
• Forecasting development and evaluation
• Analysis of universal service issues
• Analysis of effects on utility franchises
• Competitive rate implications
• Divestiture analysis
• RTO and ISO structure analysis
• Stranded cost estimation
• Functional unbundling
• Competitive restructuring model development/implementation