Utility performance and regulatory compliance are becoming increasingly visible in the utility industry. Regulatory bodies and public service commission regularly issue orders for Management Reviews and utilities themselves internally review their operations for efficiencies and review contractual issues in connection with third party relationships, such as jointly owned generation facilities.
The energy and utilities team at Baker Tilly is experienced in helping utilities and public service commissions like yours perform management reviews, benchmark operations, and write, understand, and evaluate third party contract performance. Our reviews are designed to stratify operational risks in key areas, assess operational performance, review compliance with regulatory orders, and benchmark operations against peer utilities and best practices. Our contract performance review services will include detailed examinations of key third party contracts, define exposure areas, evaluate costs and service levels against contractual requirements, and provide the foundation for future contract negotiations.
Our projects are designed based on the requirements of national utility oversight bodies and tailored to meet your organization's unique needs. Our project oversight teams are trained in the principles of sound project management. Project team members have extensive experience in those situations where the review may have been ordered by an outside agency and the issues that may involve. We will provide you with an independent assessment of the relevant facts and assertions and offer meaningful recommendations for you to pursue in implementation of best practices.
We will help you:
Determine the effectiveness of current operations and evaluate key business processes against industry best practices
Determine compliance with regulatory oversight decisions and orders
Develop and execute work plans for management audits based on industry standards such as NARUC and other utility oversight bodies
Develop policies and procedures to aid in gaining greater efficiencies in areas needing improvement
Benchmark operations against your organization's peer group and develop goals to aid in the strategic planning process
Identify the economic impact of non-compliance
Develop and execute work plans to determine contractual performance by third parties
Review cost allocation methodologies by third party contractors in joint ownership contracts and determine their appropriateness in keeping with industry standards
Evaluate internal controls in place for business processes and make recommendations for improvements
