Dr. Zimmerman retired in 2005 as Chief of Energy with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s Public Utility Division (1985 – 2005), where he oversaw all general rate reviews, resource planning, and engineering/safety reviews of electric, natural gas, and water utilities in the State of Oklahoma. Dr. Zimmerman was Senior Utility Analyst with the Oregon Public Utility Commission (2005 – 2012). Areas of work have been:
1. Integrated resource plans (demand forecasting; fuel price forecasting; review of supply-side and demand-side resource availability, costs, and operations; action plans; avoided cost; physical and financial hedging; risk analysis and mitigation; and public planning processes).
2. Design, implementation, and assessment of demand-side and energy efficiency programs and tariffs.
3. Identification and design of plans and protocols for infrastructure (critical and important) protection.
4. General rate reviews (rate base; cost of equity; cost of debt; rate of return; general expenses; allocations; propriety of accounting; depreciation; and rate design).
5. Accounting and management audits.
6. Legal and legislative reviews, including bill mark-up, policy review, and impact analysis.
7. Review and assessment of fuel and power purchasing (coal, natural gas, and oil).
8. Analysis of renewable and “clean” energy sources; environmental impacts of utility operations; and alternative rate and regulatory designs (e.g., real-time, marginal, dynamic pricing, nonlinear pricing, incentive regulation, and markets for utility services).
Prior to his work in energy utility regulation, Dr. Zimmerman was a legislative staffer, private consultant, and university professor. Dr. Zimmerman holds PhDs in Sociology/Anthropology and History, along with a BSEE and BA/BS in History, Mathematics, and Literature.