Summary of Experience
Mr. Coyne is a Senior Vice President with over three decades in the energy industry. He provides financial, regulatory, strategic, and litigation support services to clients in the natural gas, power, and utilities industries. Drawing upon his industry and regulatory expertise, Mr. Coyne regularly advises utilities, public agencies, and investors on business strategies, investment evaluations, and matters pertaining to rate and regulatory policy. Recently, he assisted a client on a multi-year engagement, reviewing performance metrics and developing data to be used in a custom distribution rate application. Mr. Coyne helped the client draft and submit this application to the client’s regulatory authority.
Mr. Coyne has authored numerous articles on the energy industry and provided testimony and expert reports before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and jurisdictions in the U.S. and Canada. He is a thought leader who has spoken on the topics of utility regulation, return on equity, business strategy, and other energy matters.
Prior to Concentric, Mr. Coyne worked in senior consulting positions focused on North American utilities industries, in corporate planning for an integrated energy company, and in regulatory and policy positions in Maine and Massachusetts. He holds a B.S. in Business from Georgetown University with honors and an M.S. in Resource Economics from the University of New Hampshire. He also serves on Concentric’s Board of Directors.
Education
M.S., with Honors, Resource Economics, University of New Hampshire
B.S., Cum Laude, Business Administration and Economics, Georgetown University
Testified Before
Alberta Beverage Container Management Board; Alberta Utilities Commission; American Arbitration Association; British Columbia Utilities Commission; Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority; Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; Hawaii Public Utility Commission; Maine Public Utilities Commission; Maryland State Board of Contract Appeals; Massachusetts Superior Court; Minnesota Public Utilities Commission; Newfoundland and Labrador Board of Commissioners of Public Utilities; New Jersey Board of Public Utilities; Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board; Ontario Energy Board; Prince Edward Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission; Régie de l’énergie du Québec; South Dakota Public Service Commission; Texas Public Utilities Commission; U.S. Department of Commerce; Vermont Public Service Board; Wisconsin Public Service Commission; Yukon Utilities Board
Case Studies
Strategic Planning Support Focused on the Utility of the Future
We provided strategic planning support for the client’s senior management retreat focused on the “Utility of the Future.” We profiled the principal driving forces impacting the industry, including economic, demographic, regulatory, and technological trends, and characterized the risks and opportunities created for utilities.
Long-Term Gas Strategy for Gas and Electric Utilities
We assisted the client with examining and evaluating potential strategies, costs and risks in pursuing longer-term supply resources for acquiring and managing natural gas. We presented the results of our research to the client’s Executive Team and Board of Directors on the merits of acquiring gas reserves as part of its long-term gas supply and overall integrated resource planning strategy.
Acquisition Support of a Natural Gas Gathering and Marketing Company
We supported a diversified conglomerate in the company’s acquisition of a natural gas gathering and marketing company. Our team provided financial due diligence through review of the company’s financial statements, with special focus on payables and receivables. We created a valuation of the company’s assets, including intangibles, for purposes of calculating goodwill and creating an […]
Shifting the Regulatory Paradigm
We provided the client with extensive analysis and expert evidence relating to its next generation Incentive Regulation (“IR”) Plan proposal. Our role included conducting an assessment of relevant regulatory precedents in select North American jurisdictions pertaining to IR plans and researching productivity factors and methods established in other jurisdictions for estimating utility productivity. The research found […]
Cost of Capital for Electric
We have testified on the appropriate cost of capital on behalf of many electric utilities before numerous state commissions. We are familiar with the requirements in most state regulatory jurisdictions in terms of the accepted return on equity estimation models and other risk considerations. In each of these cases, We have supported all aspects of the […]
Cost of Capital for Gas Distribution
We have an in depth understanding of the natural gas distribution business and the business and financial risks faced by natural gas local distribution companies (“LDCs”). We have developed expert testimony on the appropriate return on equity and capital structure for numerous gas distribution companies that considers LDC-specific risks as compared with appropriate proxy company groups.
Cost of Capital for FERC Electric Transmission
We have presented testimony on the rate of return and overall cost of capital in numerous electric transmission cases before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”). We are well versed in the historical and more recent precedent established by the FERC in setting the return on equity for electric transmission including the geographic region for the proxy group, the […]
Economic Assessment and Sale of Energy Facility
We performed an assessment of the client’s natural gas and biomass-fired electric generating facilities (the “Facilities”) located at its manufacturing plant. The assessment focused on the economic capability of the Facilities to operate as a stand-alone business, and if so, what value that plant would command in the market. Working with the client team, we […]
Regulatory and Market Due Diligence Advisor
We served as the lead regulatory and market due diligence advisor to an investment management firm in a $7.4 billion acquisition of a regulated natural gas and electric utility company. Our role in the transaction included detailed due diligence on all regulatory and market assumptions underlying the valuation model; validation of the rates, cost of service and customer […]
Utility Business Model and Regulatory Framework
Concentric organized, delivered, facilitated, and documented two multi-day “Utility-of-the-Future” workshops for a vertically-integrated utility as a level setting exercise that would establish a foundation for development of corporate strategy and participation in an anticipated generic policy proceeding. The first workshop addressed the key change drivers and business model implications, the role of innovation and new […]
Innovation
On behalf of the Canadian Gas Association and the Canadian Electricity Association, Concentric has prepared a discussion paper and three updates for utility executives and provincial regulators that examined the roles that Canada’s utilities and regulators serve to promote innovation. The paper offers a framework to consider the roles for government, utilities, and other private-sector […]
PPL Solutions, LLC / Hansen Technologies Limited
Concentric recently served as the sell-side financial advisor and manager to PPL Services Corporation in the divestiture of PPL Corp. (NYSE: PPL) subsidiary, PPL Solutions, LLC (“Solutions”). Headquartered in Bethlehem, PA, Solutions provides billing, business processing outsourcing, call centers, and information technology services to competitive electric and gas suppliers and regulated utilities in the US. […]
Strategic Advisory Services for the Development of an Energy Hub
We provided strategic advisory services for a government agency for the development of an energy hub, including building a new transmission corridor for exports into the New England region. Additionally, we have provided ongoing support to the agency for promoting development of renewable energy projects to serve provincial and export power markets. We have provided […]
Detailed Overview and Technical Assessment of the North American Energy Industry
We provided advisory services pertaining to potential acquisitions of U.S. energy companies. We provided a detailed overview and technical assessment of the North American energy industry to help the client better understand the industry and regulatory landscape in which they may invest. The assessment included a detailed overview of the electric and natural gas industries […]
Due Diligence for an Energy Infrastructure Company
We provided financial advisory services pertaining to the acquisition of a major energy infrastructure company, including natural gas distribution and pipelines. This effort included detailed due diligence to develop twenty-year financial projections for all regulated operating subsidiaries of the client’s identified target, including key revenue drivers impacting the valuation. Specifically, we provided the following support: reviewed […]
Major Capital Investment Program Prudence Review
We were retained to review and opine as to the prudence of the client’s development of an overall commercial strategy for a refurbishment project at the client’s nuclear facility, as well as the specific commercial strategies being pursued for multiple major work packages. We reviewed and considered the client’s ability to manage the project under […]
Publications
Advancing FERC’s Methodology for Determining Allowed ROEs for Electric Transmission Companies PDF
Regulator Rationale for Ratepayer-Funded Electricity and Natural Gas Innovation PDF
Authorized Return on Equity for Canadian and U.S. Gas and Electric Utilities, Volume V PDF
