In the latest episode of Future-Proofing Energy Insights, HData CEO Hudson Hollister sat down with Anne-Marie Cuneo, Director of Regulatory Operations at the Nevada Public Utilities Commission (NPUC).
Anne-Marie has over 26 years of experience at NPUC and is a trailblazer in the industry. Anne-Marie is “HData famous” for using our platform to uncover nearly $1 million in savings for Nevada businesses and families. But that’s just ONE highlight from our talk. She also describes her fascinating career trajectory, her insights on technology adoption in the regulated energy sector, and her views on public vs. private energy jobs. Anne-Marie was not only highly relatable, she shared stories and perspectives that reflect her deep commitment to public service. If you need inspiration, this is a good webinar to watch.
Here are a few highlights from this insightful discussion.
Anne-Marie’s career in data analysis began in an unexpected place: the casino industry.
As she worked to ensure casinos stayed profitable, she gained valuable experience in analyzing large datasets, a skill that seamlessly transitioned into her role at NPUC.
Hudson asked what the two industries had in common. Anne-Marie admitted that casinos and utilities were really worlds apart. In utilities, regulators are constantly working to prevent monopolies and ensure competition. But Casinos have competition in plentiful supply, so regulation isn’t nearly as large a focus.
Anne-Marie did highlight one key similarity between them, though: maximizing value. Whether you're running a casino or regulating utility rates, at the end of the day, it’s all about making sure every dollar is well spent.
Throughout her tenure, Anne-Marie has seen the utility industry undergo monumental shifts.
When Hudson prompted, she broke it down into three eras:
Deregulation Era: In the late 90s and early 2000s, deregulation was in full swing. We were selling generating units, we were preparing for utilities to become transmission, mitering, and delivery (TMD) companies, and spent time working out the rules so that would keep everyone protected. Then the Western energy crisis and the Enron scandal threw those efforts off course.
Growth & Maintenance Era: After the Western energy crisis and Enron, the focus shifted to growth and ensuring that utilities could keep up with demand. This era saw massive investments in infrastructure to stabilize the grid.
Renewables & Clean Energy Era: Today, the focus is on transitioning to renewable energy sources. We aren’t worried about keeping the lights on anymore. The challenge now is keeping the lights on in the most efficient, clean, and affordable way possible, even during peak demand times.
One of the highlights of the episode was Anne-Marie's story of how NPUC leveraged HData in a recent rate case.
By using the HData platform to analyze FERC records, Anne-Marie’s team pinpointed nearly $1 million in potential overcharges that would have otherwise been passed onto ratepayers.
We’ve written about this before. But in our webinar, Anne-Marie described her process in more detail. She had asked HData to compare costs from one year’s regulatory filings to the year prior and highlight any instances where there was a large change in spending.
This uncovered two major findings:
Finding 1, Meter Replacement Expenses: An abnormal spike in meter replacement spending was flagged. Further investigation revealed it should have been normalized. This error alone could have cost ratepayers $600,000.
Finding 2, Miscellaneous Distribution Expenses: A review of distribution expenses uncovered miscategorized charges, saving ratepayers several hundred thousand dollars more.
All in all, this simple comparison exercise with HData saved Nevada rate payors nearly $1M in disallowed costs.
When asked how often errors like these occur, Anne-Marie answered honestly, “Utilities are full of people and people make mistakes.” These kinds of things happen all the time.
It’s use cases like this that demonstrate just how critical data-driven tools like HData can be in regulatory oversight, ensuring that regulatory processes are operating on the best possible information when deciding on things like rates.
During the webinar, Hudson pointed out that employees in the public regulatory space often don’t stay long. No doubt, he was teeing up a discussion about how AI-powered tools like HData can help new team members get up to speed faster and bridge experience gaps even once they’re ramped.
Instead of talking about AI, Hudson and Anne-Marie got into a fascinating philosophical discussion about the value of public service.
That’s because, unlike most people, Anne-Marie responded to the statement about short tenures with a surprisingly welcoming spirit. She spoke passionately about the value of training new employees. She views it as a public service. After all, the regulated energy industry is small. Oftentimes, the professionals she trains in the public sector go into the private sector with a different point of view as a result of the work that did at NPUC. “We leave them with a little ‘Jiminy Cricket’ on their shoulder—an improved notion of what is ‘fair.’”
“Even when talent leaves, (the training remains) a benefit to the public. It’s a benefit to the industry, the process, and potentially a direct benefit to the regulator they work with.”
Anne-Marie also had some insights on the pros and cons of each sector. The public sector, she pointed out, has a level of work-life balance that most private companies don’t achieve. But she concedes that private companies do pay more, and doesn’t blame talent at all for “doing great things while making more money.”
When prompted by Hudson to look ahead, Anne-Marie expressed her enthusiasm for the future of technology in regulatory processes. Tools that digitize filings and allow for AI-powered word searches and automated summaries are already transforming the speed and efficiency of research at NPUC.
That means regulators can spend less time sifting through mountains of data and more time making informed, impactful decisions.
This was a stand-out edition of our new webinar series. Anne-Marie Cuneo’s experience and insights shed light on the immense value of technology and data analytics in utility regulation. Her relatable anecdotes, combined with decades of experience, make this episode a must-watch.
To hear the full conversation and dive deeper into the stories shared, watch the on-demand version of Future-Proofing Energy Insights, Ep. 3.