MCR staff are extremely knowledgeable, top-notch people who really know the rates area.
—Director of Rates and Regulatory

Regulatory Services

MCR specializes in the electric, natural gas and water utilities marketplace. Our clients have a goal of optimizing the value of the current and future investments in their regulated businesses. We help them by developing regulatory strategies, designing advanced rates and cost recovery mechanisms and managing the regulatory process to realize the full revenue potential from their assets.

Through our consulting assignments, we have created millions of dollars in value for our clients and broken new regulatory ground for our client base with landmark decisions in regulatory rulings.

MCR’s Cost of Service Tool (COST™) is ideal for regulatory professionals seeking to provide greater transparency to regulators, intervenors and other stakeholders. The tool also provides full functionality to design rates for rate case filings as well as typical bill analysis. Built in Microsoft Excel, COST™ is a fully functional cost of service model with open logic for audit, review, scenario analysis, and user editing. Learn more by downloading a COST™ brochure, reviewing COST™ options and reading about five features a cost of service model must have. Then contact us to discuss your needs and to schedule a live demonstration of the model.

Current Issues Conference 2024: April 14-17 , 2024

MCR is a Member of the Advisory Council of the New Mexico University Center for Public Utilities and wanted to share with you an upcoming conference with interesting panels and distinguished speakers. The conference will be at the Eldorado Hotel, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Click this link to get more information and to register for this Current Issues conference.

Key Staff

Cindy Menhorn

Cindy Menhorn, Vice President

Cindy is a Vice President of Regulatory Services at MCR. She has over 35 years of experience in rates, energy efficiency, load research, revenue forecasting, cost allocation and regulatory affairs, including work on over 100 regulatory proceedings before numerous state commissions. She has directed a multifunctional rate department, managing all aspects of rate case development, including revenue requirement development, cost of service studies, revenue allocation and rate design, rate case strategy, testimony development and interrogatory response development.


Ian MacDougall, Consultant

Ian is a Consultant at MCR. He has over 15 years of experience in rates and regulatory affairs, energy efficiency, and revenue decoupling. His MCR experience includes the development of cost of service, revenue allocation, lead/lag studies, rate design, gas and electric energy efficiency programs, and testimony development. He also has prior experience at multiple gas and electric utilities managing and implementing rate design pilot programs, cost recovery mechanisms, revenue decoupling and unbundling procedures, and interrogatory response development.


Client Stories

How MCR Helped a Southern IOU Develop a Green Energy Tariff as Part of Securing Renewable Load

A Southern vertically integrated electric company was signing a power purchase agreement (PPA) to secure renewable load. As part of that process, they wanted to know whether a specific tariff for renewable energy would be acceptable to both customers and regulators, and whether it made business sense for the company to pursue for this renewable load. The company needed help investigating green tariff options. Having used MCR to conduct other research and analysis projects, they called on MCR to research and propose suggestions for a green tariff.

Helping a large gas utility implement COST™ to allow in-house development of cost of service and rate design

A large gas utility serving over 750,000 customers wanted to purchase a study to run scenarios in house. They also had a desire to be able to run scenarios in two other jurisdictions for rate cases. The utility engaged MCR to develop the Cost of Service Tool (COST™) to enable the utility to run these scenarios in-house. Ultimately the client wanted to run the model in future proceedings for their rate proceedings and special studies.

Helping a water conglomerate utilize COST™ to achieve budget forecasts in multiple territories

A large water company needed a Cost of Service model to provide full details over 20 jurisdictions and to easily expand when additional properties were acquired. The utility engaged MCR to provide a solution allowing for a single model to be used throughout the company’s 20+ jurisdictions.

Helping an investor-owned electric utility implement COST™ to achieve greater cost transparency

An investor-owned utility was involved in a complex rate case involving significant shifts in rate structure across all classes. The initial Cost of Service filing was prepared using a database tool that provided output without the underlying logic. The utility engaged MCR to provide a solution allowing for robust, error-free modeling of the Cost of Service while providing third parties the access they were promised via the rate order.

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.

Helping Arizona Public Service Company implement MCR’s Cost of Service Tool to achieve greater cost transparency

APS began their search for a new cost of service model in 2017 at the end of a general rate case proceeding. Due to substantial scrutiny of APS’ filing, commission staff and intervenors sought more transparency on the logic, which APS’ existing tool had buried in proprietary code. As part of the final rate order, APS agreed to implement a more transparent cost of service model and engaged MCR to quickly roll out a solution.

Assisting Citizens Electric and Wellsboro Electric analyze their internal processes in preparation for customer choice in Pennsylvania for their customers

The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission exempted Citizens’ Electric and Wellsboro Electric (the Companies) from having to implement an electronic data interchange (EDI) system associated with customer choice until certain conditions were met. Taking a proactive stance, the Companies asked MCR to facilitate a review of their processes and help solicit bids for a third party vendor to implement the new EDI solution.

Assisting an investor owned utility provide reasonable rate options to its industrial customers

In anticipation of a general rate case and a need to review rate alternatives with their large customers, a large electric utility requested MCR provide an overview of current rate alternatives, regulatory approvals, and an assessment of the utility’s rate menu for large customers.

Assisting an investor owned utility meet stipulation requirements for filing a future general rate case

An investor owned utility in the Southwest needed to meet the requirements of a Stipulation resolving its last rate case before filing a future rate case. The Stipulation required the design of rates and cost allocation mechanisms for certain large commercial and industrial customers. Needing an outside expert to lead and facilitate the process, the company asked MCR for assistance.

Supporting Duquesne Light Company to design, file and implement energy efficiency programs to meet its Pennsylvania Act 129 obligations

Duquesne Light Company needed to develop cost effective plans that will reduce electricity consumption across their service territory by 1 percent by 2011 and 3% by 2013. In order to meet these requirements Duquesne Light selected MCR to design and file an energy efficiency plan.

Helping a natural gas utility in the Southeast achieve its rate adjustment goals and prepare its staff for work on future proceedings

A natural gas utility in the Southeast, facing a revenue shortfall, was considering a regulatory proceeding to adjust rates and other terms of service before the state regulator. With the objectives of achieving a desired regulatory outcome and building on the existing skills and experience of its internal regulatory staff, the company asked MCR for assistance.

Key Staff

Cindy Menhorn

Cindy Menhorn, Vice President

Cindy is a Vice President of Regulatory Services at MCR. She has over 35 years of experience in rates, energy efficiency, load research, revenue forecasting, cost allocation and regulatory affairs, including work on over 100 regulatory proceedings before numerous state commissions. She has directed a multifunctional rate department, managing all aspects of rate case development, including revenue requirement development, cost of service studies, revenue allocation and rate design, rate case strategy, testimony development and interrogatory response development.


Ian MacDougall, Consultant

Ian is a Consultant at MCR. He has over 15 years of experience in rates and regulatory affairs, energy efficiency, and revenue decoupling. His MCR experience includes the development of cost of service, revenue allocation, lead/lag studies, rate design, gas and electric energy efficiency programs, and testimony development. He also has prior experience at multiple gas and electric utilities managing and implementing rate design pilot programs, cost recovery mechanisms, revenue decoupling and unbundling procedures, and interrogatory response development.