Amparo Nieto

Amparo Nieto is an economist with over thirty years of experience as an expert witness in energy regulatory and litigation matters. She testifies before state utility commissions on electricity and natural gas tariff design, compensation frameworks for distributed energy resources (DERs), and regulatory incentive mechanisms that improve utility operational and investment efficiency across the US and Canada. She has also been cross-examined during energy litigation cases. 

Ms. Nieto is a thought leader on innovative rate designs that support affordability, equity, and economic efficiency during the transition to a decarbonized energy sector. These include multi-part rate designs, special tariffs and service agreements for data centers and other large loads, and time-varying and dynamic rates that enable customers to capture the value of electric vehicles and distribution-connected battery storage while limiting undue capital cost shifts to existing customers. Ms. Nieto pioneered many utility marginal cost-of-service studies and time-differentiation methodologies and has provided expert testimony in numerous states, including Nevada, New York, and Illinois, on their application and use for rate design for customers with demand flexibility. In 2021 and 2022, she was a key regulatory advisor in California’s effort to revamp net energy metering (NEM) to improve compensation for distributed solar generation. 

In addition to her US engagements, Ms. Nieto advises utility and commission staff in Latin America, Europe, Australia, and the Caribbean. She contributed to the design of wholesale energy and capacity market rules supporting independent system operators and energy regulatory commissions in the US, Ireland, and Spain. She evaluated the tariff system and provided training to the regulatory commission to improve and reduce cross-subsidies in Mexico. 

Ms. Nieto directs a membership-based utility working group focused on rate innovation and regulatory models. She has been published in the Electricity Journal and Public Utilities Fortnightly and is a frequent speaker at industry and academic energy forums.