Richard L. Levitan, President & Principal

Richard L. Levitan leads the firm's advisory services in the areas of power plant valuation, contract restructuring, wholesale power procurement, and transportation management. He advises regulatory commissions on diverse matters pertaining to resource planning and wholesale power procurement. Mr. Levitan has 33 years of industry experience in finance, regulation, and wholesale market analysis. He has provided procurement oversight services to state regulatory commissions and utilities as well as managed gas pipeline adequacy and storage deliverability studies for independent system operators through the greater Northeast, including Ontario. Mr. Levitan has testified many times at FERC and before state and provincial regulatory commissions.

Prior to establishing Levitan & Associates in 1989, Mr. Levitan was a consultant at Stone & Webster Management Consultants, Inc. In the 1970's he was an Economist at Pacific Gas & Electric Co. He received his B.A. from Cornell University and his Masters degree from Harvard University where he specialized in Energy Economics. He also attended Stanford University's Post-graduate Industrial Organization Management Program.

John R. Bitler, Vice President & Principal

John R. Bitler has over 35 years of experience in the energy industry encompassing a wide range of fuel, power and emissions control issues. Mr. Bitler advises utilities, power generators, state regulatory agencies, and end-users regarding fuel markets, procurement administration, and emission control costs. He is responsible for LAI's fuel market analysis and forecasting activities. Mr. Bitler has directed wholesale power solicitations and auctions on behalf of utilities and state agencies with responsibilities for procuring energy, capacity and renewable energy credits. Mr. Bitler has submitted expert testimony before the FERC, the Illinois Commerce Commission, and many other state regulatory commissions throughout the U.S..

Prior to joining LAI in 1992, Mr. Bitler was President of Environmental Catalyst Consultants, Inc., where he was responsible for engagements concerning the application of catalytic emissions control processes to power generation and petroleum refining. He previously was an Executive Consultant at Stone & Webster Management Consultants. Mr. Bitler’s industry experience includes commercial development, market planning and engineering positions with Northern Natural Gas, Inc. and research engineering positions with U.S. Steel Corporation. Mr. Bitler holds a B.S. degree in Mineral Economics from The Pennsylvania State University and an M.S. degree from The University of Pittsburgh in Mining Engineering.

Seth G. Parker, Vice President & Principal

Seth G. Parker is an economics and financial manager with 33 years of experience in market design, price forecasting, credit and collateral issues, and the development, analysis, valuation, and financing of power and infrastructure projects. Mr. Parker assisted the NYISO and generators with the Spot Capacity Market (demand curve) mechanism and advised PJM generation owners on the Reliability Pricing Model, and participated in FERC technical conferences for both matters. He has testified before the Rhode Island state regulatory commission on offshore wind project assessment, including regional economic impacts, as well as before many other state regulatory commissions and FERC. He is a frequent speaker on project financing and market design, renewable energy, wholesale procurement practices, resource planning, and transmission issues.

Prior to joining LAI in 1998, Mr. Parker was Vice President of Stone & Webster Management Consultants where he conducted due diligence in support of over $6 billion of domestic and overseas project debt for lenders, investment banks, the World Bank, and other multilateral agencies. He has also worked at J. Makowski Associates and ThermoElectron Energy Systems, as well as in the Treasurer's Office at Pacific Gas & Electric. Mr. Parker received a Sc.B. from Brown University in Applied Mathematics / Economics and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School in Operations Research / Finance. He has also studied gas turbine technology and completed additional coursework in geopolitics at the Kennedy School, Harvard University.

Ellen G. Cool, Ph.D., Vice President & Principal

Ellen G. Cool, Ph.D., has 25 years of consulting experience in the energy and environmental industries. She has advised clients on competitive procurement options for wholesale power supply, including project financed HVDC transmission projects, natural gas-fired plants, and renewable generation. Dr. Cool has extensive expertise in environmental compliance strategies, siting and permitting of generation and transmission projects, and the environmental impact of generation projects. She has advised institutional and industrial end users on cogeneration development. She has performed financial analyses in regard to proposed transmission projects as well as in relation to both conventional and renewable energy projects. Dr. Cool has advised LIPA on the commercialization of the Caithness Energy Center and the Neptune transmission projects. On behalf of the Connecticut state regulatory commission, she has managed LAI's procurement oversight efforts regarding CL&'s and UI's competitive auctions for wholesale power as well as LAI's efforts regarding new quick-start generation. She regularly testifies before the Connecticut state commission on procurement matters.

Prior to joining LAI in 1999, Dr. Cool was a Principal with Harding Lawson Associates, Inc. (formerly ABB Environmental Services, Inc.). She previously was a project manager at TRC Corporation and Woodward Clyde Consultants, and worked for mining and minerals companies in exploration and mine development. Dr. Cool received an A.B. in Geological Sciences from Harvard University, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from the University of Washington.