Reducing the cost of the energy transition

ENGAGEMENTS
Clients hire the Wired Group for several types of engagements.  Wired Group principals and associates serve as expert witnesses in regulatory proceedings, conduct performance evaluations, critique extraordinary grid investment plans, and author white papers.

Regulatory Proceedings

The Wired Group’s primary revenue stream comes from our service as expert witnesses on behalf of consumer, business, and environmental advocates in monopoly regulatory proceedings.  In these proceedings we review utility applications, conduct discovery, develop testimony, respond to discovery on testimony, assist with settlement negotiations, appear in hearings, and help develop briefs.  Wired Group associates have testified in scores of cases in 15 states, achieving an 85% success rate (defined as a favorable regulatory decision or negotiated settlement) against long odds.   


Performance Evaluations

The Wired Group is the only consulting firm to have completed comprehensive, unbiased performance evaluations of smart meter and grid modernization project benefits and costs post-deployment.  Wired Group associates have completed two of only three such evaluations ever conducted (the third was conducted by the California PUC’s Department of Ratepayer Advocacy).  These evaluations were the starting point for the Smart Grid Hype & Reality book, and are publicly available on the Reference Work page.  (Look for Xcel Energy and Duke Energy deployment evaluations.)   


Grid Investment Plan Critiques

Our project evaluation experience, which provides us with a clear understanding of the requirements for favorable customer benefit-cost ratios, puts us in an excellent position to identify the shortcomings of smart meter and grid modernization business plans.  This is the type of assistance our clients request from us most frequently, whether in regulatory proceedings or in whitepaper development.


Workshops and Training

We are pleased to share our knowledge via workshops and training materials customized for specific needs and subject matter interests.  Wired Group principals have designed and executed custom workshops, from one-half day to two and one half days in length, for utilities, regulatory Staff, consumer advocates, and industry associations. 


Whitepaper Development

For a variety of reasons, regulatory proceeding participation is not always possible or appropriate.  Carefully-crafted whitepapers can influence stakeholders and proceedings in such cases.  Topical whitepapers can also be helpful on a stand-alone basis.  For examples, please consult the Reference Work page.  (Look for “Grid Modernization in the Public Interest” whitepapers authored for GridLab and developed for specific circumstances in South Carolina and Virginia.)