On this week’s Energy Capital Podcast, Joshua Rhodes talks with Ellis, now research director at MarketClear Utility Policy Research and an expert witness for consumer groups in rate cases. They discuss why the gap persists and how an auction could close it.
Chapters
00:00 – Introducing Mark Ellis
00:57 – How utilities make money
07:08 – From Sempra insider to utility critic
12:53 – What makes a return fair
17:56 – The math behind a 6 percent return
22:39 – Lower returns and credit ratings
28:08 – Walking through a $10 billion project
33:15 – What utility stock prices reveal
36:49 – Why regulators keep returns high
42:12 – Letting investors bid: the MarketClear auction
45:11 – Who would invest, and how much
50:09 – How the utility business would change
54:12 – Why utilities resist non-wires alternatives
