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Karl Nalepa is an energy economist with over 25 years of private and public sector experience in the electric and natural gas industries. He has extensive experience analyzing utility rate filings and resource plans with an emphasis on fuel and power supply requirements, quality of fuel supply management, and reasonableness of energy costs. He has conducted agency performance reviews and utility system valuation studies. Mr. Nalepa previously directed all natural gas utility analysis and policy activities for the Railroad Commission of Texas, with responsibility for preparing timely natural gas industry analysis, managing ratemaking proceedings, mediating informal complaints, and overseeing consumer complaint resolution. He has prepared and defended expert testimony in both administrative and civil proceedings, and has served as a technical examiner in natural gas rate proceedings. |
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Bill Starnes is a senior management consultant with over 25 years of broad based energy experience, including managerial work in strategic and operational planning, gas supply and transportation management, contract negotiation and administration, merger and acquisition analysis, retail electric aggregation, regulatory compliance and utility rate analysis. Mr. Starnes has extensive experience in the development and implementation of policies and procedures to implement the Texas restructured electric market, including resolution of transitional issues in the restructured market, and development and maintenance of retail customer electric aggregation groups in a restructured market. He forecasts fuel prices and has procured electric and natural gas supplies for utilities and end users. Mr. Starnes has also managed or performed numerous financial analyses and valuations of both physical and contractual assets in the electric and gas markets. |
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Patrick Wilkins is a registered professional engineer in the state of Texas and has over 25 years experience in the electric power, and engineering and management consulting fields. He has held management positions in the areas of corporate planning, treasury and market planning and research with three major electric utility companies. In addition, Mr. Wilkins has extensive experience in business and project development, marketing, acquisition evaluation and contracting in the power generation field. He has been active in ERCOT by serving in various capacities as the representative of market participants and as a consultant has advised clients on a variety of energy projects. Mr. Wilkins has been active in the restructuring of electric markets where he has negotiated power supply and service agreements for two large municipal aggregation groups. |
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Harold L. Hughes Jr. is a registered professional engineer in the State of Texas and has over 30 years of experience in the energy business. His broad background includes utility regulation and legislation, transmission line design and construction, and power plant construction and operations. While with the Public Utility Commission of Texas, Mr. Hughes served as Manager of Fuels and Engineering, and later as the Director of the Electric Utility Division with responsibility for overseeing all electric utility matters before the Commission. He has served as an expert witness on a broad range of technical topics including Certificate of Convenience and Necessity applications, cost of service, quality of service, fuel audits, depreciation, and system operations. Mr. Hughes has been active in ERCOT as the representative of a market participant and as a consultant has been active in the restructuring of the electric market in Texas. |
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Bob Wittmeyer is a registered professional engineer in the state of Texas with over 25 years experience in the electric power and engineering and management consulting fields. He has held management positions in the areas of power production and power marketing at two utility companies. As an industry consultant, he has advised clients in such diverse areas as market restructuring, risk mitigation, power supply acquisition and contract dispute resolution. In addition, Mr. Wittmeyer has been active in ERCOT since 1997 serving at the committee, subcommittee and working group levels as a Market Participant representative. |
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Nita Stevens is an accountant and company Controller with over 20 years of experience preparing and analyzing financial statements and reports in the management consulting, construction, public health, and automotive industries. She holds a Master of Business Administration in Accounting. Ms. Stevens’ experience includes the maintenance and review of budget information for multiple companies and/or funding sources, project costing, job costing, financial reporting and analysis, forecasting, non-profit accounting, audit preparation, general ledger analysis, client billing, payables and receivables, human resources and payroll functions. |
