About Us
Fox, Smolen & Associates, Inc
PUCT Licensed Aggregator #80056
 
 
Marilyn J. Fox
President
 
Marilyn is a professional accountant, specializing in utility rate regulation and other financial and policy issues. She has worked for the finance departments of municipal governments regulating electric, gas and water utilities and negotiating franchise agreements and contracts with business entities. She has also handled franchise fee and tax compliance issues. She has served as an expert witness in local, state and federal proceedings and presented testimony before the State Legislature of Texas. Marilyn has worked with clients from the public and private sector on a variety of projects ranging from franchise fee reviews and negotiations to applying the Federal Communications Commission’s Rules for pole attachment rate calculations. She filed testimony at the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) in many major rate cases and participated in various rule-making workshops. She also assisted in strategic planning for two large commercial companies considering entry into the deregulated electric markets.
 
Paul N. Smolen
Vice President
 
Paul has over twenty-five years of experience in infrastructure development and regulatory compliance. His clients include public- and private-sector organizations preparing to exercise their options in deregulated telecommunications and electric markets. Paul helps public power utilities and other entities to implement electric deregulation plans. In addition, he prepares feasibility studies and business plans for telecommunications networks. He conducts cable television needs assessments and prepares municipal policy reviews related to telecommunications issues. Paul has served as a municipal regulatory affairs officer and negotiated licenses and franchises for cable-television and telecommunications providers. His duties included rights-of-way management, telecommunications tower sitting, Internet public service delivery and other economic development initiatives. As an economist at the Public Utility Commission of Texas, Paul was involved in telecommunications and electric tariff development and rate design. He also coordinated conservation and load-management projects and served on several Federal Communications Commission Joint Boards.
 
Jason O’Krent
Director of Energy Purchasing
 
Jason graduated from the University of Redlands in Southern California with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and a Psychology minor. He works directly with staff from Chambers of Commerce to help them market the Electric Coalitions. This includes designing and distributing marketing materials such as flyers, pocket cards, posters, newsletter articles and surveys. In addition, Jason works directly with business representatives to help them select a competitive contract for their electricity requirements.
 
Jacob Childress
Data Analyst
 
Jacob graduated from Texas State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration.  He has been with Fox, Smolen & Associates since 2005.  Jacob assists in obtaining, processing, and analyzing bids for our Electric Coalition clients.  Since joining Fox, Smolen, he has become highly proficient with our database and is working on new ways to streamline our procedures.
 
John Piña
Pricing Analyst
 
John graduated from Texas State University with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration. John works directly with our providers on pricing and plays a vital role providing support to our Electric Coalitions and the entire FSA team.