Our consulting encompasses a broad spectrum of services and includes:

• DEPRECIATION AND VALUATION SERVICES

• LITIGATION SUPPORT

• SPECIAL STUDIES AND ANALYSIS

  

The Alliance Consulting Group professionals have been actively involved in the utility industry for as many as forty years.  We hold ourselves to high standards and value our consistently strong reputation. We have provided consulting services for clients (both rate-regulated and non-rate-regulated) that encompass virtually every type of utility, including electric, gas, water, wastewater, communications and steam utilities.  In many instances, we will provide services for utilities with multiple types of assets.

SCOPE OF UTILITIES AND REGULATORY CONSULTING SERVICES

Our consulting encompasses a broad spectrum of services and includes:

  • Depreciation and valuation services
  • Litigation Support
  • Special studies and analysis



DEPRECIATION AND VALUATION SERVICES

Since its formation in 2004, Alliance Consulting Group has performed over 200 engagements dealing with depreciation or valuation studies for all types of utilities including public and private.  These studies incorporate life analysis of aged and unaged data, net salvage analysis, and depreciation system recommendations for both regulated and non-regulated clients.  We also offer property valuation services used in valuation of individual assets, merger/acquisition, stranded cost, and other special studies.  Our professionals have more than 115 combined years of experience in depreciation and valuation, as well as over a dozen years working together as an effective team.  Our clients stretch across nearly every state and jurisdiction and include electric (vertically integrated and transmission and/or distribution only), gas distribution, gas transmission, mining, generation only, communications, water and wastewater utilities.  Whether assessing the impact of technology change or updating depreciation rates based on changing facts or conditions, we bring to the table a thorough grasp of utility and property accounting policies, operational considerations and the engineering impacts that factor into conducting a thorough depreciation study.  We have an outstanding track record of acceptance of our recommendations. 

Alliance relies on the services of a number of experts in the field of depreciation.  These include a registered professional engineer with over thirty years of depreciation experience and years of utility management experience, a Ph.D. in depreciation theory with over forty years of working with utilities and other consultants with many years of utility and consulting experience.  Our depreciation professionals bring an unparalleled level of service with industry specific experience.  During their careers, our team has:

  • Conducted over 225 depreciation studies stretching over more than thirty years for a wide range of assets
  • Managed the property accounting function of a Fortune 100 company with electric generation, transmission, and distribution, gas transmission, distribution, storage and gathering, communications and mining assets
  • Directed capitalization policy and property unit standards for one of the nation’s largest utilities
  • Assured compliance to GAAP for fixed assets in a major utility
  • Lead a company’s property accounting organization from regulation to non-rate regulated competition
  • Led industry (EEI/AGA) taskforce in the adoption SFAS 143 (Asset Retirement Obligation) standard
  • Presented expert testimony on various topics regarding depreciation, valuation, rate base, and capital recovery in more than 175 cases
  • Trained utility personnel and Commission Staff from across the nation on depreciation issues

DEPRECIATION STUDIES AND VALUATIONS
Preparation of depreciation studies or valuations are our specialty. Reasoned engineering judgment, discussions with your operations staff, and experience in many industries and with many companies are integral to our studies.  Our goal is to be able to see beyond the numbers into the underlying forces that create the life and net salvage we see in our studies.  When a study requires litigation, we offer expert witness testimony for written and oral arguments.  From depreciation system recommendations to analysis of changing trends, we support our studies thoroughly in arenas of all types.

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS AND REVIEW OF PROPERTY ACCOUNTING PRACTICE
 Whether you are looking for a review of accounting policies or retirement units or are seeking direction in an unregulated environment, we can offer an unrivaled dimension over most consultants.  We bring together expertise in engineering and accounting – both from our real world experience as utility professionals as well as years of working with clients in this area.  As we prepare your depreciation study, we dig deep into the underlying transactions and provide feedback on issues or challenges we may see in your data.  We look for areas that we may be able to provide additional value by recommending ideas for best-practices or better transactional processes.  What we bring to the table offers unparalleled service for your capital asset needs.

 TRAINING
 We understand that the most effective clients are those who understand the impact of operational and accounting policies and practices on capital recovery.  While our primary focus may be on conducting depreciation studies, we strive to teach our clients the concepts behind what we do and help them better understand the depreciation study process and the connection between their actions and the resulting lives and net salvage from the study.  Alliance Consulting Group has also offered training in depreciation and valuation fundamentals in a variety of forums.  Our professionals have taught in many venues: Depreciation Programs, Society of Depreciation Professionals (SDP) training sessions, Edison Electric Institute/American Gas Association training sessions, Michigan State University Institute of Public Utilities and for various Commission Staff and companies across the country. Our consultants are industry leaders who help shape industry policy for complex issues.

LITIGATION SUPPORT

Rate case testimony and analysis represents a significant segment of our regulatory consulting practice and is typically performed as part of larger studies and analysis.  Alliance Consulting Group professionals have provided testimony in over 175 separate dockets and have provided testimony before most of the regulatory bodies in the U.S. on depreciation and other related matters.  We have an outstanding track record of acceptance of our recommendations. 

We provide expert testimony in the following areas:

  • Depreciation and Valuation
  • Rate Base
  • Other related matters

In addition to providing expert testimony, Alliance Consulting Group professionals work closely with legal counsel to develop cross-examination strategies, prepare cross-examination outlines, provide assistance during preparation of all hearing briefs, and orient and assist legal counsel.  We have also provided support in training other, less seasoned, witnesses.



SPECIAL STUDIES AND ANALYSIS

Whether you seek a review of accounting policies or retirement units, need to more fully develop your process of recognizing removal cost in projects or seek help in understanding the cost recovery period for new technology, our combination of engineering, accounting and real-world experience offers an unrivaled dimension over most consultants. We offer assistance in developing time and motion studies, unitizing assets, consultation on ARO-related issues and best-practice consultation for fixed asset policies and practices.  We have managed these processes as utility personnel and walked with others in developing these areas as consultants.  Our combination of experience and expertise provides an unparalleled experience.  Below are some of the special studies Alliance Consulting Group has performed:

  • Time and motion studies for allocating removal cost in replacement projects
  • Development of depreciable lives and rates for new technology
  • Assistance in unitization of assets such as power plants
  • Consulting related to fixed asset and unitization policies and practices
  • Consulting related to ARO implementation and policies
  • Individual asset valuations for sale or transfer