Veronica Irastorza

Education

Master of public policy, University of California, Berkeley
Bachelor of economics, Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico
Diploma in political analysis, Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico

Experience

Veronica Irastorza is an Associate Director at NERA Economic Consulting with 20 years of experience in energy regulatory and strategic issues. Ms. Irastorza assists clients with issues related to energy regulation and contracts, energy markets, damages, valuations, disputes, and arbitrations. 

In the electricity sector, Ms. Irastorza has advised governments, regulators, energy companies, investors, and large users on industry structure, regulation, sector reform, evaluation of assets, market design, tariffs, planning, and forecasting in many countries around the world, including Canada, Chile, Ireland, Mexico, and the United States. She has worked on matters related to all aspects of the electric power sector, including generation, transmission, ancillary services, distribution, and retailing.

In the natural gas sector, Ms. Irastorza has advised companies on the effects of new policies and regulations, as well as on due diligence and mergers and acquisitions. She has also advised governments and regulators on strategies for designing efficient regulations for natural gas transportation, distribution, storage, and planning. Ms. Irastorza gained extensive experience in planning and regulatory issues as Deputy Director of Planning for Pemex Gas, Mexico’s national gas company, and uses that experience to help her clients tackle a wide range of challenges. 

Ms. Irastorza leverages her experience as former Undersecretary of Energy Planning and Transition in Mexico, a position she held until December 2012, to help her clients navigate long-term energy project planning, as well as renewable energy and energy efficiency policies. Her planning work as Undersecretary included developing the Mexican National Energy Strategy and producing energy outlooks.

Ms. Irastorza also served as Director General of Energy Planning at the Secretary of Energy in Mexico. She was responsible for the first National Energy Strategy with a 15-year outlook and coordinated the energy outlooks for oil, natural gas, LPG, petroleum products, and electricity.  

Additionally, Ms. Irastorza previously served as an advisor to Mexico’s Energy Secretary, during which time she was involved in several projects pertaining to the privatization of natural gas transportation, investment incentives in electricity plants, and other public policy issues. She also taught economics to undergraduates at Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico. While attending the University of California at Berkeley, she worked for the California Public Utilities Commission, analyzing transmission investment incentives for the restructured electricity industry.