Rick Starkweather

Partner

Rick Starkweather has been a management consultant for more than 25 years and is a leader in ScottMadden’s regulatory practice. His areas of expertise include strategic and business planning, budgeting and forecasting, regulatory compliance and rate case support, and organizational and operations improvement. Prior to joining ScottMadden, Rick was a consultant with Deloitte Consulting. He also has experience in the healthcare and chemical industries and helped lead the start-up of two companies. Rick received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Northwestern University and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. He is also a Certified Measurement and Verification Professional (CMVP) and Certified Energy Auditor (CEA) through the Association of Energy Engineers.

Recent Assignments

Conducted a capital and O&M benchmarking study for a southeastern utility to support a rate case filing. Provided expert witness testimony in support of our findings, including responding to various discovery requests from interveners
Directed a project for a southeastern utility to improve the speed and accuracy of the rate-making process by identifying improvements to the development of revenues and billing determinants for rate filings by enhancing information reporting and analytics, and automating the process through potential technology solutions
Completed assessments of NERC reliability compliance documentation for several utilities, including a review of applicable standards, evaluation of existing documentation to determine adequacy given the requirements, and development of additional documentation to prepare for upcoming compliance audits
Conducted a review of a utility’s transmission cost recovery, mercury emissions reduction, environmental, and conservation improvement rate riders. Scope of review included the processes for budgeting and forecasting cash flows for eligible projects, the tracking of projected cash flows for each project through the company’s budgeting and fixed asset accounting systems, and the revenue requirements calculations supporting the riders
Developed statistical sampling methodologies to test gas main extension and new service capital projects for a Midwestern gas utility. Defined the population of all projects, identified sample projects, compiled necessary documentation to assess tariff compliance for these projects, and developed rate base adjustments to address uncollected contributions in aid of construction based on sample results
Completed an assessment of the capital budgeting and reporting processes of a combination electric and gas utility that was migrating to a future test year. Developed recommendations and process improvement initiatives to improve accuracy of in-service dates and overall forecast accuracy, resulting in better rate case assumptions, improved budget and forecast data, and more accurate accounting data
Developed an audit plan and project management protocols for a Midwestern electric utility to guide the development of all regulatory filings in various jurisdictions. Scope included the development of detailed process maps for each rate filing process, the identification of data input, consistency, and reliability risks, and the identification of appropriate preventive and detective audit controls

Viewpoints

“Trends in Rate Cases: How to Improve Cost Recovery.” AGA State Affairs Committee. October 2015
“Rate Case Preparation and Management.” EEI/AGA Advanced Public Utility Accounting Course. August 2015
“Improving Regulatory Outcomes: A How-To Guide.” EUCI Rate Design Strategies for Meeting Regulatory Objectives Conference. July 2014
“Improving Regulatory Outcomes: Reengineering the Rate Case.” Natural Gas & Electricity Journal. March 2013

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