BRG Welcomes Regulatory Expert Amparo Nieto as Director in Energy Practice

BRG today announced that Amparo Nieto has joined the firm as a director in its Energy & Climate practice in Los Angeles. Ms. Nieto is an economist with more than thirty years of testifying and advisory experience on critical regulatory policy matters, including as an expert witness before energy regulatory commissions. Her assignments involve the development of innovative electric and natural gas rate designs, special tariffs and service agreements for data centers and other large loads, utility new business models, multiyear rate plans, and market-based pricing. She has been deposed in litigation cases related to energy tariff matters and has supported utilities and regulatory entities developing new regulatory measures to achieve state electrification and affordability goals cost-effectively.

Ms. Nieto supports clients in retail energy pricing and enhanced regulatory business models amid the transition to decarbonization across the US, Canada, and internationally. She has recommended multipart, time-of-use, marginal cost-based rate structures for distributed solar, battery storage, and electric vehicles. Recently she has assisted clients on a new tariff and cost allocation for data centers and other large loads in Minnesota and California; and efficient compensation for distributed energy resources (DERs) in New York and Illinois.

“Amparo brings decades of experience helping utilities and regulators navigate complex pricing and market-design challenges,” said Christopher Goncalves, chair of BRG’s Energy & Climate practice. “As utilities rethink how energy is delivered and priced, her practical and rigorous analytical approach to rate design and regulatory strategy will help clients adapt to a rapidly changing energy landscape and make informed decisions for the future.”

Ms. Nieto’s arrival extends a wave of senior talent joining BRG’s Energy & Climate practice this year, including Managing Directors Bob Marcum and Enrique Glotzer and Director Drake Hernandez and the return of Director Xiang “Jerry” Li. These hires reflect the firm’s continued investment in growing the practice worldwide.

Ms. Nieto was a regulatory advisor to the California Public Utilities Commission in a statewide reform of the compensation framework for distributed solar to replace net metering. She has led market design and transmission tariff engagements in the US to ensure a level playing field among grid users, including efficient incentives for customers with demand flexibility.

Ms. Nieto has extensively advised private and public entities in Latin America, Europe, Australia, the Caribbean, and Africa. Her career began in Spain, where she was involved in the country’s electricity sector restructuring process. She has been published in the Electricity Journal and other journals and is a frequent speaker at energy conferences and academic forums.

I’m excited to join BRG’s talented, multidisciplinary Energy & Climate team at a time when utilities and regulators are rethinking traditional approaches to rate design, cost allocation, and business models to better integrate new technologies while preserving energy affordability,” said Ms. Nieto. “The transition to zero- or lower-carbon resources and integration at scale of new-generation technologies, as well as new power demand sectors, are creating complex pricing and market design challenges that require rigorous economic analysis and practical regulatory insight across federal and state jurisdictions. I look forward to helping clients navigate these policy and regulatory issues and contributing to the continued growth of the practice.”

Ms. Nieto holds an MS in economics from the Institute for Fiscal Studies in Madrid and a BA in economics from the University of Carlos III of Madrid.