Commonwealth Energy Advisors Announces Senior Staff Additions
Press Release Source: Commonwealth Energy Advisors Thursday March 27, 2:23 pm ET
MARLBOROUGH, Mass., March 27 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of establishing of a New York office, Commonwealth Energy Advisors, Inc. ("CEA") today announced the further addition of five highly experienced professionals to their Marlborough office. These two expansions in staff have resulted in a near doubling of CEA's consulting team over the past four months. John P. Kelly, William R. Hopkins, James A. Doering, John E. Higgins, and Danielle S. Powers will work with CEA in providing advisory services to energy and utility companies as well as financial institutions in the energy sector throughout North America.
"CEA is pleased to continue its growth in key practice areas. The skills of these new team members are complimentary to those of the existing staff. Having worked together in the past, we look forward to continuing our long- standing professional relationships both as a consulting group and with our traditional clients," said John J. Reed, Chairman and CEO of the company.
As announced in January, William Patterson, Frank Russell and David Brauer joined the company and have a primary focus on advisory services to financial, institutional and operating companies in the energy sector throughout North America. The newest team members bring a breadth of experience in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, asset sales, valuations and appraisals, regulatory and litigation support, financial and corporate strategy, and energy market assessment. The addition of these senior professionals enhances and expands CEA's ability to provide leading edge financial advisory services to its growing client base.
Mr. Kelly is a valuation consultant with over 35 years of experience conducting valuations of public utility and industrial properties for ratemaking, purchase and sale considerations, ad valorem tax assessments, accounting and financial purposes. He has broad international experience, having provided valuation and appraisal services in India, Brazil, Canada, Peru, New Zealand, Barbados, and Venezuela. He has provided expert testimony before utility commissions, federal and state courts, and administrative bodies on more than 45 occasions. In addition to his valuation experience, Mr. Kelly has also been appointed and approved to prepare independent engineer's certificates relative to valuation matters by numerous utility companies, trustees, and banks. He served as a Vice President of Stone & Webster Management Consultants, Inc., Director of Stone & Webster's Appraisal Division, and most recently served as a Director at Navigant Consulting, Inc. Mr. Kelly is a Certified Appraiser in several states, a Registered Professional Engineer, and a graduate of Northeastern University.
Mr. Doering has over 22 years of experience in the federal regulation of natural gas and oil pipeline rates and tariffs and the analysis of natural gas issues. His areas of expertise include tariff and operational issues, regulatory applications, service terms and conditions, rate design, and expert testimony and/or settlement of contested issues. Mr. Doering has comprehensive knowledge of natural gas transmission regulation, experience in all aspects of ratemaking, and has testified in a number of FERC cases regarding costs and rate design. Mr. Doering has represented clients on more than 19 pipeline companies and two major pipeline projects in the United States and Canada, covering issues as diverse as market analysis, roll-in of project costs, producer refunds, and imbalance cash-outs and penalties. He has also worked with gas distribution and electric companies in the United States and Canada on various regulatory and rate issues. Mr. Doering received a B.B.A. in Accounting from the University of Texas at El Paso, has CFO level financial management experience, and is a certified public accountant. He was previously a Principal with Navigant Consulting Inc. and prior to that with REED Consulting Group.
Mr. Hopkins, is an expert in utility pricing, costing and regulation matters, with over 30 years of experience and expert testimony before regulatory bodies. Specialization in national and international gas, electric and water utility tariff designs; including rate case preparation, pricing design, incentives, cost of service studies, special contracts, tariff terms and conditions and regulatory issues. Consulting expertise also includes consulting experience with utilities in the forecasting of operating results, economic analyses, market surveys and valuation studies. Experience in the leadership of consulting teams on large client projects. Prior joining CEA Mr. Hopkins was a Director at Navigant Consulting and REED Consulting Group which he joined after working for over ten years at Stone &Webster management Consultants.
Mr. Higgins is a management consultant with 15 years of experience in the energy industry. Mr. Higgins specializes in energy industry restructuring issues and the analysis of competitive energy markets and has extensive experience in wholesale energy market design, energy market assessment, energy price forecasting, and asset valuation. Mr. Higgins has managed numerous projects involving energy market structure, rules and fundamentals, price forecast issues, and project and portfolio revenue optimization. Mr. Higgins has also advised several clients on competitive procurement processes for the purchase or sale of either commodity or other energy services. Most recently, he has served as an independent evaluator for a major northeast utility's standard offer and default service solicitation process. Prior to joining CEA, Mr. Higgins served in senior consulting positions at Navigant Consulting, Inc. and REED Consulting Group, and as a generation planning engineer at Central Vermont Public Service Corp. Mr. Higgins holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University.
Ms. Powers is a management, financial, and economic consultant with 14 years of experience in the energy industry. She has an extensive background in generation asset sales and acquisitions, asset valuation, energy planning and procurement, market analysis, transmission interconnections, and power plant operations. Ms. Powers has been involved in and/or managed the sale of over 12,000 MW of fossil fueled generation and purchased power contracts. Specifically, her responsibilities in these transactions included strategic options review, asset valuation, energy market assessment, regulatory support, transition power sales, bid evaluation, and due diligence support. In addition, Ms. Powers has substantial experience in energy procurement and has assisted several clients in obtaining competitive electricity supply in the deregulated market. Most recently, Ms. Powers served as a Senior Engagement Manager at Navigant Consulting, Inc. Ms. Powers has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and an M.B.A. from Bentley College.
About CEA: Headquartered in Marlborough, Mass., CEA is a management consulting and financial advisory firm focused on the North American energy and water industries. CEA specializes in transaction-related financial advisory services, energy market strategies, market assessments, regulatory and litigation support, economic feasibility studies, and capital market analyses and negotiations. CEA is in no way affiliated with Commonwealth Energy Company of California.
More information on the firm's staff, affiliates, service offerings and its philosophy of client-consultant constructive collaboration can be found at CEA's web site, www.ceadvisors.com, or by calling the firm's headquarters at 508-787-0900.
Contacts:
John J. Reed 508-263-6262
Robert B. Hevert 508-263-6204