Summary of Experience
Ms. Ihara has 15 years of experience in the energy industry bringing technical expertise in econometric analysis, financial modeling, and database management. She has assisted clients with rate design, integrated resource planning, utility prudency reviews, contractual disputes, acquisition/divestiture due diligence, market power studies, and energy market assessments. She has designed unit commitment and gas storage optimization models and has performed valuations of various electric generation projects, natural gas pipeline and storage facilities, fuel supply contracts, and power purchase agreements.
Ms. Ihara’s demand forecasting and supply planning experience includes an engagement in which she developed natural gas demand forecasts and assisted in the development of long-term Integrated Resource Plans on behalf of several utilities located in the Northeast, Midwest, and Pacific Northwest. She has also reviewed demand forecasting methodology for both a multi-state gas utility and a Canadian electric utility. For the gas utility, she recommended certain process changes to improve methodology and forecast accuracy, and for the electric utility she analyzed and evaluated the statistical and quantitative projection methods used, including end-use and econometric forecasting techniques.
Ms. Ihara served as an Intern Engineer and Application Developer at General Electric Power Systems Energy Consulting before joining Concentric. She is proficient in VBA, MATLAB, SQL, and SPSS.
Education
B.S., magna cum laude, Applied Mathematics, Brown University
Case Studies
Power Supply Procurement Advisory
We assisted a utility with the design, administration and evaluation of its power supply procurement processes. Specifically, we developed and administered the request for proposals (“RFP”), managed the due diligence process for interested parties, supported the development of transaction terms and documents, provided a preliminary review and modeling of bids received, identified the short list of […]
Plant Retirement and Redevelopment
Our utility client owns and operates coal-fired generating stations in the Midwestern U.S. Following the decision to retire certain coal-fired generating assets, the company’s decommissioning team was faced with the challenge of determining how to realize each retired site’s highest and best use. The goal was to find the best use for each site specific […]
Independent Evaluator
We acted as an agent of a state regulatory commission by serving as the Independent Evaluator for the competitive acquisition process that our utility client undertook to acquire resources pursuant to its approved state’s resource plan.
Analysis to Assess Historic Generator Profits/Losses in the Wholesale Electric Market
We conducted an analysis to assess historic generator profits/losses in the wholesale electric market in various energy zones in the NYISO. Our work involved identifying and assessing key profitability drivers, analyzing historic capacity and energy prices, developing fixed and variable operating costs for select fuel types, analyzing financial markets to determine appropriate costs of capital […]
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 […]
Survey of Time Varying Rate Pilot and Full Scale Programs
We conducted a survey for a consortium of electric utilities on Time Varying Rate (“TVR”) pilot and full scale programs in North America. We provided summary statistics for customer participation levels, TVR impact on system peak and overall power consumption, and the persistence of price responsiveness over multiple years.
