RAMCO Consulting Company

RAMCO Consulting Company (RAMCO) was founded in March 2002 as a follow-on organization to RAMCO, Incorporated, which was purchased by PG&E’s National Energy Group in March 2002.

RAMCO, Inc. was founded in 1977 as an energy and management consulting firm headquartered in San Diego, California. Its initial contracts were with the U. S. Energy Research and Development Agency and the Department of Energy to evaluate the feasibility of commercializing the Nuclear High Temperature Gas Reactor. The Company’s founder, Richard McCormack, had previously served as President of General Atomic Power Systems Company (GA) from 1974 until the time the company’s owners, The Royal Dutch Shell Corporation and The Gulf Oil Corporation, withdrew from the nuclear power generation business.

Since its inception RAMCO has retained its identity as a small, highly skilled consulting organization made up of a wide variety of contract engineering and management specialists in the power generation field. The company has worked for utilities, independent power producers, Architect Engineers and Constructors, municipal power organizations, state agencies, various U. S. Government Department of Agencies, and research organizations.

Consulting with U. S. Generating Company and Pacific Gas & Electric Corporation’s National Energy Group, RAMCO successfully developed and financed two Peaking Power Plants totaling 84 MW in Chula Vista and Escondido, California which are insuccessful commercial operation.

In its 26 years, the company has engaged in a range of commercial and government projects, including:

  • Serving as operation experts and investigators for litigants involved in power plant accidents
  • Providing generating companies with project financing and cost estimates for various new Greenfield facilities and other generating alternatives
  • Consulting on various aspects of coal firing including fuel purchase, milling, blending and safety
  • Providing analysis of boiler combustion methods to improve efficiency performance
  • Improving environmental performance of fossil fired steam generators
  • Preparing financial analysis of various power related commercial transactions
  • Conducting R&D activities on new desalination and thermal energy storage technologies
  • Supporting nuclear power plant operational staffs
  • Identifying and implementing large facility energy conservation measures
  • Preparing an Integrated Maintenance and Material Management software program (IMMPACT)
  • Designing, developing and transferring the technology associated with a commercial heat pipe product for use in energy conservation in the power generation and building services industries
  • Preparing boiler and prime mover specifications for large coal power plants
  • Consulting on various aspects of marketing, bulk power sales, project development, and management for an independent power producing company
  • Consulting on the commercialization of new technologies
  • Developing and installing a company-wide comprehensive Project Management System
  • Preparing a Comprehensive Business Plan for the Steam Division of a large utility company
  • Preparing an Operating Guidelines and Procedures Document for, and providing management consulting services to, an operating nuclear utility company
  • Identifying sites and providing permitting and licensing support for Greenfield site activities
  • Performing Residual Value studies of existing power generating facilities
  • Developing a Corporate Personnel and Plant Safeguards Program
  • Providing organizational and management consulting services
  • Analyzing various incidents and accidents and resolving problems in operating power plants

In the United States, services have been provided to the following customers:

The Consolidated Edison Company of New York

The Pacific Gas & Electric Company

The Southern California Edison Company

The Public Service Company of New Mexico

The San Diego Gas and Electric Company

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

The Northern Indiana Public Service Corporation

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District

The Empire State Electric Energy Research Corporation

The U. S. Generating Company

PG&E National Energy Group

The Bechtel Power Corporation

The U. S. Energy Research and Development Administration

The U. S. Department of Energy

The U. S. Department of Interior, the Bureau of Reclamation

The U. S. Department of Defense,
           i)   The Center for Excellence for Research of Ocean Sciences (CEROS)
           ii)  The United States Navy

The California Energy Commission

The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority

Combustion Engineering Corporation

The Enpex Corporation

Various Legal firms

Skilled in Power Generation, Asset Management, Transaction Analysis and Power Plant Operation.

RAMCO Consulting Company (RAMCO) was formed after its predecessor company, RAMCO Incorporated, was purchased by PG&E Corp’s National Energy Group, Disbursed Generating Company, LLC, in 2002.

RAMCO maintains the professional staff and team that successfully developed, permitted, built, started up and placed in commercial operation 2 peaking power stations in San Diego County; Chula Vista and Escondido, CA. These plants have operated successfully since August and October 1991 respectfully under a Summer Reliability Agreement (SRA) contract with the California Independent System Operator (CAISO).