I don't think I could make the journey back to a canned product now that I've seen what is possible. FRST is the most powerful financial planning tool I've ever seen.
—Corporate Financial Advisor

Financial Planning and Analysis

MCR specializes in financial planning, regulatory analysis, strategic issues analysis and risk management for electric, natural gas and water utility businesses. Our clients are IOUs, G&T cooperatives, municipals and joint action agencies that are committed to developing better strategies and making astute financial decisions.

Clients hire us because we are able to apply analytic discipline and tools across a wide array of industry issues. We help our clients set strategic direction and allocate capital. Our deep industry insights help us understand and implement the financial systems and technologies that help our utility clients improve their performance.

utility financial forecasting model We offer FRSTTM, the only utility specific, Excel-based, financial and regulatory planning model. Read more about MCR’s Financial and Regulatory Strategy Tool and download a FRSTTM brochure.

Contact us to discuss your needs and to schedule a live demonstration of the model.

Key Staff

Dave Thompson, Vice President

Dave is a Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis at MCR. With over 20 years of management consulting experience to utilities, Dave has developed significant expertise in crafting innovative business solutions and sophisticated analytics in connection with strategic planning, risk management and financial planning initiatives. Dave played a key role in developing MCR’s Financial, Regulatory and Strategy Tool, which has been implemented at electric, gas and water utility IOUs, G&Ts and municipals.


Dan Rupp, Manager

With over 20 years of industry and consulting experience, Dan is a Manager at MCR. Dan transforms client financial forecasting capabilities by implementing MCR’s Financial, Regulatory and Strategy Tool and other sophisticated modeling applications. He helps provide management with insights on the impacts of alternative short- and long-term strategies and changing business and market conditions. A recognized industry expert in the area of financial and economic modeling, Dan has worked with numerous energy companies in over 30 engagements, including IOU’s, G&T’s and municipalities.


Client Stories

Helping a multi-district water utility calculate revenue requirements through implementation of an integrated regulatory analysis system

A water utility with multiple districts wanted a tool to calculate revenue requirements and develop the standard filing requirement reports for one of their states. The utility turned to MCR to address their problem.

Building a detailed rate forecast for a G&T with multiple rate classes

A large G&T sought to replace a black-box forecasting model with a tool that could support detailed forecasting of revenue requirements that matched the utility’s cost of service for each of its member classes.

Updating FRST™ with new regulatory strategy capabilities

MCR’s client had implemented a version of FRST™ that focused on short-term earnings forecasting. The initial implementation was based on the Regulatory group providing all aspects of information for future rate cases. The resulting process worked in an environment with few rate cases; but after time, the utility began seeing more frequent rate cases and had a need to better link financial forecasting and regulatory planning.

Developing a regulatory strategy capability for an IOU

A large utility owned electric, gas, water and wastewater utilities across a multi-state area. As they focused on growth through acquisition, they lacked the ability to analyze each entity’s need for rate cases consistent with their planning horizon.

Enhancing a distribution cooperative’s financial forecasting capabilities with FRST

A Rocky Mountain distribution cooperative needed robust capabilities to develop its financial forecast. The cooperative hired MCR to implement the Financial, Regulatory and Strategy Tool (FRST™) to become a primary tool for monthly forecasting and annual planning.

Improving an investor owned utility’s financial planning and risk analysis capabilities with FRST

A mid-sized investor-owned utility was using an inefficient, “black box” planning model to develop their financial forecasts. The company wanted to dramatically improve the flexibility of the financial forecasting process and efficiency of generating new forecasts. To achieve these goals, the company selected MCR to implement the FRSTTM financial planning model.

Enabling Georgia Transmission Corporation to develop better long range plans and forecast short-term liquidity with FRST

Georgia Transmission Corporation was using a long-range financial planning tool that was difficult to maintain and presented significant challenges when a new calculation or a change in the business structure required model changes. In addition, the company wanted to improve their ability to test various scenarios, financing alternatives and gain better insight to near-term liquidity. MCR was hired to implement a rapid FRSTTM deployment.

Helping Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency improve financial planning processes and better manage funding and reserves using FRST

Southern Minnesota Municipal Association (SMMPA) was using an outdated, database oriented financial planning tool to develop its long-range financial plans and rate forecasts. With the goal of fixing planning issues and improving their ability to quickly create and analyze asset and financing scenarios, SMMPA asked MCR for help.

Enabling a G&T utility to save millions and maintain its credit rating with an optimal environmental capital plan for its large coal units

A generation and transmission cooperative (G&T) in the Midwest was threatened with a reduction of their credit rating due to declining liquidity and deteriorating financial ratios. With a senior management mandate to develop lower-cost environmental compliance solutions in the face of capital constraints and projected rising member rates the G&T asked MCR for advice.

Helping an investor owned utility develop strategies to address the opportunities and threats of distributed generation

MCR’s client faced a rapidly changing market environment driven by the emergence of distributed generation (DG) technology. MCR worked with our client to define four alternative future scenarios for their electric market.

Financial processes and systems: Custom power billing for Buckeye Power

We worked with our client to develop an assessment of its current monthly billing, data, and analysis processes and supporting systems. The report included a defined roadmap for creating a billing system to address the objectives and issues related to wholesale power billing.

Financial processes and systems: Integrating capitalization policies and units of property for a large utility merger

Upon completing its merger with another utility, our client needed to integrate its capitalization policies and unit of property (UoP) catalogues for its expanded generation fleet, transmission, distribution and general utility property. The merger presented an opportunity to align capitalization policies, incorporate best practices and resolve previous organizational disputes.

Key Staff

Dave Thompson, Vice President

Dave is a Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis at MCR. With over 20 years of management consulting experience to utilities, Dave has developed significant expertise in crafting innovative business solutions and sophisticated analytics in connection with strategic planning, risk management and financial planning initiatives. Dave played a key role in developing MCR’s Financial, Regulatory and Strategy Tool, which has been implemented at electric, gas and water utility IOUs, G&Ts and municipals.


Dan Rupp, Manager

With over 20 years of industry and consulting experience, Dan is a Manager at MCR. Dan transforms client financial forecasting capabilities by implementing MCR’s Financial, Regulatory and Strategy Tool and other sophisticated modeling applications. He helps provide management with insights on the impacts of alternative short- and long-term strategies and changing business and market conditions. A recognized industry expert in the area of financial and economic modeling, Dan has worked with numerous energy companies in over 30 engagements, including IOU’s, G&T’s and municipalities.