Exeter Associates, Inc. staff has been continuously involved in electric utility industry regulatory issues since the Company began operating in 1981, and the experience of its senior staff predates the formation of the Company.  Exeter has provided expert witness testimony in hundreds of regulatory proceedings before state and federal regulatory commissions.  This testimony has been on behalf of commission staffs, consumer advocates, and federal and state government clients. 

In addition, Exeter personnel have provided consulting and prepared reports/studies addressing broad policy issues facing particular states and industry-wide regulatory concerns.  These testimonies and studies have involved such recent issues as industry restructuring, wholesale and retail open access, privatization of utility systems, stranded costs, contract evaluation/negotiation, and the development or evaluation of performance-based mechanisms (alternative forms of regulation) for electric utilities.

Exeter has provided analysis of utility system privatization and has assisted clients in negotiating privatization arrangements for electric generation, transmission, and distribution facilities.  In addition, Exeter personnel contributed importantly to the development of utility system privatization guidelines currently in place for the U.S. Department of Defense.

Exeter staff also has extensive experience in providing expert testimony and consulting on rate of return, load forecasting, demand side management, depreciation, cost of service, utility resource planning, cogeneration analysis and merger issues.  Recent engagements by Exeter have included:

              •    providing analysis and expert testimony regarding mergers, including those of Potomac Electric Power Company and Baltimore Gas & Electric Company; Southern Indiana Gas and Elecron and Vectren and Bangor Hydro Electric Co. and Emera, Inc.; issues included competition and market structure, financial impacts and regional economic impacts.

              •    developing mechanisms for the competitive procurement of electric power by retail customers, including 30 major military installations in California.

              •    developing generic guidelines for negotiating customized, utility-funded demand-side management and energy conservation contracts and negotiating such contracts for federal government clients with numerous utilities including Southern California Edison Company, El Paso Electric Company and Nevada Power Company.

              •    conducting analysis of the economic feasibility of cogeneration; recent clients include the University of Maryland, Vandenberg Air Force Base (California), and the Eastern Correctional Institute (Maryland).

              •    evaluating and developing performance-based rate mechanisms for such electric utilities as Central Maine Power, Public Service Electric & Gas, Montana Power Company, and Bangor Hydroelectric.