Event Overview
This 1.5-day course will introduce the student to the ratemaking process as it pertains to the natural gas industry. It is important that individuals working in the natural gas industry gain an understanding of this process since almost everyone in the industry has some impact on rates.
Attendees will receive 11 Professional Development Hours (PDH) and a Level 2 – Natural Gas Ratemaking Specialist digital, Credly badge upon completion.
Day 1: June 8
8 am – 4:30 pm, CDT
Day 2: June 9
8 am – 12 pm, CDT
Learning Objectives:
At the end of the 1 and half days, the learner will be able to:
- Understand the fundamentals of utility rate setting.
- Understand the basics of financial statements for regulated utility organizations.
- Know how a rate base is developed.
- Understand how a rate case is developed by participating in a mock rate case.
- Demonstrate how to calculate rate base, revenue requirements, and rate design.
- Demonstrate appropriate knowledge of operating expenses, trackers, and depreciation.
- Familiarize how to question and review income statements.
- Understand the capital structure of a utility.
- Understand cost allocation methods.
- Know performance-based ratemaking.
The first day provides information on the basic components of the rate process from the pipeline and LDC perspective, including the fundamentals of the ratemaking process. The day concludes with an interactive group exercise, the Van Go Transportation Company, which illustrates issues companies face when structuring their rates and determining if services are fixed, variable, or both.
The second day of the workshop provides an opportunity for participants to apply the information received the previous day in a series of case studies and role-playing exercises. The Ratemaking Game – a set of case studies based on actual rate cases – divides participants into role-playing groups comprised of gas company representatives, commissioners, consumer advocates and interveners.
Who Should Attend
- Rate Analysts (two years or less) from LDC, transmission, or gas supply marketing companies
- Non-rate professionals from any department who would benefit from a broad understanding of the rate process, including: Operations, Government Relations, Marketing, Public Affairs, Accounting, Engineering, and other departments
Meet Your Instructor
Mark Caudill
Attorney at Law
Mark D. Caudill, LLC
Mark Caudill is an attorney with more than 30 years of energy utility regulatory, legal, and management experience, including work before numerous state commissions and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”). Mark has served: natural gas distribution companies, interstate pipelines, and producers; electric distribution companies, transmission companies, and generators; energy marketers; and financial institutions that fund utility-related transactions. Based in the Atlanta metropolitan area, Mark is currently admitted to the Georgia and Alabama state bars. He works with companies and their local attorneys in matters regarding regulated markets. His clients include some of the leading energy companies in North America.
Mark previously served as a vice president and practice leader at MCR, a national management consulting firm specializing in regulated industries. Mark provided in-depth knowledge and expertise, including traditional ratemaking, alternative forms of regulation, supply and capacity planning, and regulatory case management. Prior to joining MCR, Mark served as Vice President for Energy Competition, and Corporate Secretary and Vice President for Rates and Regulatory at AGL Resources; Vice President of Rates and Regulatory for Atlanta Gas Light; Director of State Regulatory Affairs for Southern Natural Gas Company and Sonat; and as the Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Enforcement and the Special Assistant to the Deputy General Counsel at FERC.
In addition to appearing as an attorney in many rate and regulatory proceedings, Mark has appeared as an expert witness before state utility commission, FERC, state legislative committees, and U.S. congressional committees. Additionally, Mark regularly presents at industry and professional conferences, and he conducts seminars, workshops and mock trial training exercises to enhance the effectiveness of rate departments and in-house fact, policy and expert witnesses.
