Susan F. Tierney
Education
Ph.D. and M.A., regional planning, public policy, Cornell University; B.A., Scripps College
Summary of Experience
Dr. Tierney is an expert on energy policy and economics, specializing in the electric and gas industries. She has consulted to companies, governments, nonprofits, and other organizations on energy markets, as well as economic and environmental regulation and strategy. Her expert witness and business consulting services have involved industry restructuring, market analyses, utility ratemaking and regulatory policy, clean energy regulatory policy, transmission issues, wholesale and retail market design, and resource planning and procurement. Dr. Tierney is a former assistant secretary for policy at the US Department of Energy, state cabinet officer for environmental affairs, and state public utility commissioner. She chairs the board of directors of Resources for the Future; serves on the external advisory board of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory; and is a member of the boards of directors of the World Resources Institute, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Barr Foundation, and other organizations. She has published widely, frequently speaks at industry conferences, and has lectured at many leading universities.
Provided Expert Testimony
- Assessing Market Needs to Evaluate Natural Gas Pipeline Development
- Assessing the Environmental Impact of the Siting of a Natural Gas Power Plant
- Central Vermont Public Service Corporation and Green Mountain Power Corporation v. Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee
- David T. Stevenson, et al. v. Delaware Department of Natural Resources, et al.
- In re: The Application of Transource Maryland LLC for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity
- State of North Carolina, ex rel. Roy Cooper, Attorney General, v. Tennessee Valley Authority
- US Senate Committee Hearing to Examine the Electricity Sector in a Changing Climate
Additional Cases
- American Tradition Institute and Rod Lueck, v. Epel, et al.
- Analysis of Economic Feasibility of Proposed Coal Plant
- Calpine Corporation Bankruptcy Settlement
- Consultants Study CEO Perspectives and Recommendations on California’s Advanced Energy Policies
- Energy Policy Act Section 1813 Comments: Report of the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation for Submission to the US Departments of Energy and Interior
- In-Depth New Analyses on the Use of Renewable Energy for Power System Operations
- Pricing and Retail Contract Analysis
- The Economic Impacts of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative on Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States
- Wholesale Market Design Analysis
-
U.S. Coal-Fired Power Generation: Market Fundamentals as of 2023 and Transitions Ahead
White Paper, 2023
2023 -
Massachusetts’ Energy Transition: Innovation for Electric Utility Regulation
White paper, September 2023
2023 -
Accelerating Decarbonization in the United States: Technology, Policy, and Societal Dimensions
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2023
2023 -
Electric System Reliability and EPA Regulation of GHG Emissions from Power Plants: 2023
White Paper, 2023
2023 -
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Reliability Technical Conference: Prepared Statement of Susan F. Tierney, Ph.D., Senior Advisor, Analysis Group
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), 2023
2023 -
Vehicle Fuel-Economy and Air-Pollution Standards: A Literature Review of the Rebound Effect
White Paper, June 2018
2018 -
An Expanding Carbon Cap-and-trade Regime? A Decade of Experience with RGGI Charts a Path Forward
The Electricity Journal, June 2018
2018 -
Resource Adequacy and Wholesale Market Structure for a Future Low-Carbon Power System in California
White Paper, July 2018
2018 -
The Proposed Northern Pass Transmission Project: Assessing its impacts on New Hampshire
White Paper, February 2017
2017 -
Enhancing the Resilience of the Nation's Electricity System
National Academy of Sciences, Consensus Study Report, July 2017
2017 -
Natural Gas Pipeline Certification: Policy Considerations for a Changing Industry
White Paper, November 2017
2017 -
Electricity Markets, Reliability and the Evolving U.S. Power System
White Paper, June 20, 2017
2017 -
RGGI and CO2 Emissions Trading Under the Clean Power Plan: Options for Trading Among Generating Unit
White Paper, July 2016
2016 -
The U.S. Coal Industry: Challenging Transitions in the 21st Century
White Paper, September 2016
2016 -
Does the Clean Power Plan Go Too Far? No.
The National Law Journal, September 26, 2016
2016 -
Millstone Power Station - Providing support for achieving Connecticut’s clean energy goals
White Paper, December 2016
2016Tierney S, Aubuchon C
-
Electric System Reliability and EPA’s Clean Power Plan: Tools and Practices
White Paper, February 2015
2015 -
Electric System Reliability and EPA’s Clean Power Plan: The Case of PJM
White Paper, March 2015
2015 -
Carbon Control and Competitive Wholesale Electricity Markets: Compliance Paths for Efficient Market Outcomes
White Paper, May 2015
2015Carbon Control and Competitive Wholesale Electricity Markets: Compliance Paths for Efficient Market Outcomes
-
Electric System Reliability and EPA’s Clean Power Plan: The Case of MISO
White Paper, June 2015
2015 -
Report of the Independent Advisory Panel Regarding Integration of Renewable Energy into California’s Electric System
Independent Advisory Panel Report, January 2014
2014Arvizu D, Borenstein S, Tierney S, Wright S
-
Project Vigilance: Functional Feasibility Study for the Installation of Ambri Energy Storage Batteries at Joint Base Cape Cod
Functional Feasibility Study, February 2014
2014 -
EPA’s Clean Power Plan: States’ Tools for Reducing Costs and Increasing Benefits to Consumers
White Paper, July 2014
2014 -
California's Advanced Energy Economy: Advanced Energy Business Leaders’ Perspectives and Recommendations on California’s Energy Policies
Report prepared for the Advanced Energy Economy Institute, February 2013
2013 -
Planning for Offshore Energy Development
White Paper: Executive Summary, June 2013
2013Tierney S, Carpenter S
-
Planning for Offshore Energy Development - Complete
White Paper, June 2013
2013Tierney S, Carpenter S
-
Why Coal Plants Retire: Power Market Fundamentals as of 2012
White Paper, February 2012
2012 -
The Positive Outlook for Cleaner Air and Reliable Electric Service
White Paper, June 2012
2012 -
Terrorism and the Electric Power Delivery System
Report Issued by the National Research Council (NRC)
2012 -
America’s Bright Future: Cleaner Air and Affordable, Reliable Electricity
White Paper, May 2012
2012 -
The Economic Impacts of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative on Ten Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States
White Paper, November 2011
2011 -
Carbon Control and the Economy: Economic Impacts of RGGI’s First Three Years
The Electricity Journal, December 2011
2011 -
Ensuring a Clean, Modern Electric Generating Fleet while Maintaining Electric System Reliability: Summer 2011 Update
M.J. Bradley & Associates LLC
2011 -
Ensuring a Clean, Modern Electric Generating Fleet while Maintaining Electric System Reliability: Fall 2011 Update
M.J. Bradley & Associates LLC
2011 -
Ensuring a Clean, Modern Electric Generating Fleet while Maintaining Electric System Reliability
M.J. Bradley & Associates LLC
2010 -
An Evaluation of the McCullough Research Report on New York’s Wholesale Power Market
Report Commissioned by the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO)
2009 -
Strategic Options for Investment in Transmission in Support of Offshore Wind Development in Massachusetts
Commissioned by the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust (MRET)
2009 -
Competitive Procurement of Retail Electricity Supply: Recent Trends in State Policies and Utility Practices
Commissioned by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
2008 -
ERCOT Texas’s Competitive Power Experience: A View from the Outside Looking In
Commissioned by Reliant Energy, Inc.
2008 -
Pay-as-Bid vs. Uniform Pricing: Discriminatory Auctions Promote Strategic Bidding and Market Manipulation
Public Utilities Fortnightly, March 2008
2008Tierney S, Schatzki T, Mukerji R
-
A 21st Century “Interstate Electric Highway System” – Connecting Consumers and Domestic Clean Power Supplies
White Paper - Commissioned by AEP
2008 -
A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the New York Independent System Operator: The Initial Years
Report Commissioned by the New York Independent System Operator
2007 -
A National Perspective on Allocating the Costs of New Transmission Investment: Practice and Principles
White Paper prepared by the Blue Ribbon Panel on Cost Allocation for WIRES
2007Baldick R, Brown A, Bushnell J, Tierney S, Winter T
-
Decoding Developments in Today’s Electric Industry – Ten Points in the Prism
White Paper for the Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA)
2007 -
A Cost-Benefit Assessment of Wholesale Electricity Restructuring and Competition in New England
Journal of Regulatory Economics
2006 -
The Economic Burden of Depression: Societal and Patient Perspectives
Biology of Depression. From Novel Insights to Therapeutic Strategies
2005 -
Energy and Environmental Policy in the United States: Synergies and Challenges in the Electric Industry
Prepared for The French Center on the United States
2003 -
The Political Economy of Long-Term Generation Adequacy: Why an ICAP Mechanism Is Needed as Part of Standard Market Design
The Electricity Journal
2002Tierney S, Besser JG, Farr J
-
Regional Issues in Restructuring the Electric Industry
The Electricity Industry Briefing Papers
1998 -
Foreword: Using Consensus Building to Improve Utility Regulation
Amer Council for An Energy (August 1994)
1994 -
Massachusetts’ Pre-Approval Approach to Prudence in Massachusetts
The Electricity Journal
1990 -
Using Existing Tools to Pry Open Transmission—A New England Proposal
The Electricity Journal
1990 -
Datawars: Computer Models in the Federal Government
Columbia University Press
1987Tierney S, Kraemer KL, Dickhoven S, King JL
-
December 2, 2019
-
September 14, 2021
-
September 24, 2021
-
September 21, 2022
-
March 24, 2023
-
November 9, 2023
-
March 4, 2024
-
February 9, 2024
-
January 24, 2024
-
November 15, 2023
-
November 8, 2023
-
October 23, 2023
-
October 11, 2023
-
September 12, 2023
-
August 8, 2023
-
August 2, 2023
-
July 12, 2021
-
March 19, 2021
-
February 25, 2021
-
February 8, 2021
-
January 19, 2021
-
January 14, 2021