Mark is director at URA with over 20 years’ experience as a regulatory economist. Mark regularly advises governments, economic regulators and a number of large utilities in the water sector. He provides clients with strategic advice ranging from the development of legislation governing regulatory frameworks to state based regulatory approaches and pricing and tariff principles.
Mark also provides advice on operational regulatory functions such as independent reviews of expenditure and demand forecasts and the development of detailed regulatory finance models for both regulators and businesses.
During his career, Mark has:
– advised governments, regulators and businesses on the form and function of regulatory frameworks
– advised business on the planning, development, review and defence of regulatory submissions
– undertaken independent reviews of regulatory proposals for regulators
– provided technical support to businesses and regulators (such as the estimation of long run marginal costs, determination of appropriate rates of return and the establishment of regulatory asset bases).
– supported businesses through major tariff reform processes
– developed regulatory pricing models that provided businesses with effective tools for running pricing scenarios and supporting customer engagement.
Highlighted Experience
Mark has advised both regulators and businesses on the development and implementation of regulatory instruments and frameworks, including the development and application of long run marginal cost models, the specification of regulatory rates of return, the design of appropriate forms of price control, the development and specification of regulatory principles and the design of access arrangements.
Mark supports water businesses in the development of their pricing submissions. This support ranges from technical support such as modelling support, expenditure and demand forecasting and submission drafting through to strategic support.
Mark has led operating expenditure and demand reviews for regulators including the Essential Services Commission, Queensland Competition Authority, Office of the Tasmanian Economic Regulator and the Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission. Mark has also supported many utilities in the development and implementation of their forecasting approaches. This support includes the design and development of forecasting models.
Mark has supported businesses through tariff reform processes including reviews of trade waste pricing for TasWater and East Gippsland Water, wastewater pricing for Townsville City Council, New Customer Contributions for a number of Victorian businesses.
Mark has designed and built good practice regulatory pricing models for a number of businesses, including East Gippsland Water, Westernport Water, Goulburn Murray Water, StateWater (WaterNSW) and Townsville City Council. Mark undertakes critical reviews of businesses models for Sunwater, Goulburn Valley Water, Barwon Water. Mark has also undertaken model development and review for regulators such as the Essential Services Commission and IPART.
Mark has supported businesses and Government in the specification of funding options. For example, Mark supported Melbourne Water in the development of its funding approach to the Fishermans Bend Development area and the Department of Environment Land Water and Planning in its development of funding options for the treatment of Bendigo groundwater.