Economics for Making the World Better

MILES O. BIDWELL, Ph.D.

Until 2011, Dr. Bidwell was President of Bidwell Associates, Inc.  Bidwell Associates provides advice and expert testimony on matters pertaining to the electricity industry, its regulation, and its movement toward a more competitive and efficient industry structure.  Dr. Bidwell holds B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Economics from Columbia University, where he specialized in applied microeconomic theory and econometrics.

Until 1996, Dr. Bidwell was a Vice President of National Economic Research Associates, Inc. (NERA).  At NERA, Dr. Bidwell directed projects, conducted studies and presented testimony on behalf of Producers of electricity, of electric, gas and telephone utilities, and on behalf of the customers of regulated utilities.  He also performed market and cost studies in antitrust and merger cases and frequently advised clients on topics such as analyzing the implications of different industrial structures and alternative forms of regulation.  For the last twenty years, Dr. Bidwell has been conducting research and advising clients on issues related to the electricity industry's transformation from regulation to competition.  He was an early proponent of the market type structure that became the basis for the electricity industry in England and Wales, worked extensively on a new industry structure in California (not the one adopted), and has participated in each of the industry restructuring proceedings in New York State.  As part of his work in California, he developed a method for including demand side bidding in a day ahead and spot electricity market.  Since 1999, he has been working with economists at Power Economics, Inc. on cases and reports in New York, California, and New England.  In 2002, as part of a project for the California ISO, Dr. Bidwell developed a new approach for ensuring market stability and resource adequacy along with optimal reliability by using a new instrument, the Reliability Option (RO).  He has conducted a major study on electricity markets for a consortium of European Union Electricity Regulators and he is one of the major architects of the new (2006) market in New England which is derived from his RO market design.  The design was accepted by FERC in June 2006, and the first auction took place in February 2008.  Dr. Bidwell is currently working on ways to use smart meters to increase the efficiency of electricity markets.

Before joining NERA, Dr. Bidwell served as Chief of Regulatory Research for the New York State Public Service Commission.  During this period he was responsible for the further application of economic theory to regulation and to ratemaking involving the areas of electric utilities, telecommunications, water and gas, including developing a method for using NYPP data to estimate the time varying marginal cost of electricity.  At the same time, Dr. Bidwell designed and directed the graduate Program in Regulatory Economics at the State University of New York at Albany, where he was an adjunct professor.  Earlier in his career, he served on the economics faculty at Wake Forest University.

As an expert witness, Dr. Bidwell has appeared before Federal and State courts and in hearings before numerous State regulatory Commissions, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and the House of Lords. 

RECENT ACTIVITIES  (Publications)

“A New England Capacity Market that Works,” with Randall Speck, Esq.  Public Utilities Fortnightly, August 2006.

“Why Reliability Options Are the Answer in New England.”  The Electricity Journal, Vol. 19, Issue 4, May 2006.

“Reliability Options:  A Market-Oriented Approach to Long-Term Adequacy.”  The Electricity Journal, Vol. 18, Issue 5, June 2005

“Will NETA Ensure Generation Adequacy?” with Alex Henney  .  Platts Power UK, Issue 122, April 2004, McGraw Hill, London.  This article is the first part of the study listed next.

“Will NETA Ensure Generation Adequacy?” with Alex Henney  .  This study was supported by various organizations including Energywatch.  April 29, 2004.  The first third if this study has been published in Power UK.

RECENT ACTIVITIES  (Reports and Presentations) 

Designing the electricity market in New England.  As the economics expert for the State of Connecticut and other Load Parties, Dr. Bidwell wrote many memoranda and gave many presentations to the Load group and to the entire group.  At the same time Dr. Bidwell worked with the ISO-NE and three other economists and they jointly designed the market and auction rules for the NE market based on Dr. Bidwell’s proposed RO approach as summarized in his June 2005 Electricity Journal article.  This intense activity took place from November 2005 to March 2006, and it is continuing with less intensity as the detailed market rules are developed.  Dr. Bidwell has recently developed a method for integrating the allocation of transmission connections into the annual forward capacity auction, and participates on an ongoing basis on issues of market design and refinement. 

“The New England Forward Capacity Market and Reliability Options,” with Alex Henney  .  A multi-client study primarily for European regulators, this report explains the mechanisms used in the new market, summarizes the basic market rules, and provides a timetable of events as the market moves toward its first auction.  May 2007

“Generation Adequacy Study for European Regulators,” with Alex Henney  .  This confidential study consists of three reports, Report 1: A Review of Practices and Proposals in Various Jurisdictions;  Report 2: The Behavior of Energy-Only Markets: Will They Ensure Generation Adequacy?  Report 3: The RO Method of Assuring Adequacy.  August 2005

“Assuring Resource Adequacy.”  Report and presentation to the Amsterdam Power Exchange.  Amsterdam, September, 2003.

“Assuring Resource Adequacy.”  Report and presentation to the Ministry of Energy, the Hague, October, 2003.

“Assuring Resource Adequacy and Market Stability.”  Presentation to NordPool, Helsinki, November, 2003.

“Report on Power Sector Reform Alternatives in Thailand,” with Carl Pechman, prepared  for Probe International, December 7, 2003.

RECENT ACTIVITIES  (Testimony) 

FERC  Prepared Direct and Answering Testimony of Carl Pechman and Miles Bidwell on behalf of the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control, et al.  Docket No. ER03-563-030.  November 4, 2004

FERC  Prepared Cross Answering Testimony of Miles Bidwell and Carl Pechman on behalf of the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control, et al.  Docket No. ER03-563-030.  January 10, 2005

FERC  Affidavit on Behalf of the Maryland Public Service Commission Concerning PJM Offer Price Caps.  Docket No EL08-34-000,  November, 2007

FERC   Affidavit on Behalf of the Maryland Public Service Commission Concerning PJM RPM Complaint.  Docket No EL08-34-000,  January 17, 2008

FERC  Affidavit on Behalf of The Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control, concerning compensation of Must-Run units.  Docket N. ER08 1209-000, August 28, 2008

FERC  Affidavit in Behalf of the NRG Companies concerning mitigation of de-listed plants.  Docket No. ER09-1144-000, July 2009

FERC    Affidavit on Behalf of the Boston Gen Companies concerning flaws in the NE market rules, buyer market-power abuse, and needed new market rules.  Docket No. ER10-787-000, March 15, 2010

FERC    Affidavit on Behalf of PSEG and NRG concerning needed rule changes for the NE market including better aligning costs and prices in different zones.  Docket ER10-787-000 and EL10-50-000, April 2, 2010