Blueflame Consulting

What Blueflame Consulting does

Blueflame Consulting and Research, LLC is a privately held, women-owned professional services firm founded in 2002–2003 and headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, with operating activity concentrated in the Northeast United States. The firm delivers two interlocking practices: (1) regulatory consulting and expert witness services for utility rate proceedings, natural gas expansion programs, and consumer advocacy, led by President Rebecca Bachelder, who has testified in more than 90 proceedings across at least seven states over 35 years; and (2) commissioned market research and benchmarking studies for financial services organizations, billers, and payment processors, led by Director of Research Ed Bachelder, who has conducted 54 studies since joining in 2009 and over 230 studies across his career.

The firm's service portfolio spans consumer and business market research, billing and payment processing consulting, product design and demand estimation, and recurring benchmarking studies (eBilling adoption, mobile bill pay, payment exceptions, remittance processing, and conjoint analyses). There is no proprietary software product or technology platform; revenue is generated entirely through professional services delivered by the two principals and project staff, supplemented by an expertise partnership with Flow Consulting for Lean/Six Sigma engagements.

Blueflame monetizes through negotiated project fees for expert testimony, regulatory intervention, and industry-sponsored research, with clients spanning state Offices of Consumer Counsel, Attorneys General, investor-owned utilities (Boston Gas/Columbia Gas, Hess, Direct Energy, AllEnergy), industry associations (NACHA), and corporate sponsors of payments research. The firm has no external institutional capital, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed M&A activity. Go-to-market is sales-led and community-led, built on conference presentations, NACHA Payments Innovation Alliance membership, and direct relationships with regulatory bodies and corporate sponsors.

Name

Blueflame Consulting

Legal name

Blueflame Consulting and Research, LLC

Website

https://bflame.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Blueflame Consulting is a women-owned professional services firm providing expert witness testimony in utility rate proceedings and commissioned market research/benchmarking studies for financial services organizations, billers, and payment processors across the Northeast United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Utility Regulatory and Market Research Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191), Marketing Consulting Services (541613)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Litigation Support & Expert Witness Services (BPAHALAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Policy, Regulatory & Public Affairs Research (BPAHALAF), B2B / Industrial Market Research (MPAAALAA), Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom) (BPAHALAE)

Keywords

• Utility regulatory consulting
• Expert witness services
• Market research consulting
• Billing and payment research
• Demand estimation consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Ft Myer

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Regulatory Consulting and Expert Witness Services: Revenue generated through consulting engagements and expert witness testimony in regulatory proceedings for utilities, government entities, and energy market participants. Services include rate case analysis, cost allocation studies, and regulatory strategy.
2. Market Research Studies: Conducts commissioned research studies for industry associations (NACHA) and corporate clients on payment processing, billing preferences, and market trends. Studies are typically sponsored by industry organizations seeking benchmark data and market intelligence.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Blueflame Consulting and Research is an east-coast consulting practice providing strategic research, consumer and business market research, billing and payment processing consulting, and product design and demand estimation services to financial services organizations, utilities, large billers, and payment processors. The firm also provides expert witness testimony in utility regulatory proceedings covering rate design, cost allocation, unbundling, performance-based regulation, and natural gas expansion programs. Deliverables include custom commissioned studies, benchmarking reports, conjoint analyses, and expert testimony rather than any software or packaged product.

Product overview

Blueflame Consulting is a consulting practice offering strategic research services rather than a software product company. The firm provides consulting across four core service areas: Consumer & Business Market Research, Billing & Payment Processing, Product Design & Demand Estimation, and Strategic Research Consulting. These services are supported by specialized research offerings including Benchmarking Studies (eBilling adoption, mobile bill pay, payment exceptions, remittance processing) and Conjoint Studies for pricing and product configuration analysis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategic Research Consulting

Quantifiable outcome

• 90+ regulatory proceedings testimony and analysis
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Flow ConsultingsupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerFlow Consulting is a consortium of experienced consultants with expertise in Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma concepts. Blueflame maintains relationships with Flow Consulting to ensure projects are staffed with experts needed to provide solutions. The partnership focuses on accelerating business solutions and linking improvement methodologies into strategic focus for rapid, measurable results.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Concentric Energy Advisors: Energy and utility management consulting firm that provides regulatory advisory, expert witness, and rate-case support to utilities, state regulators, and consumer advocates across the U.S. Directly comparable to Blueflame's utility-ratemaking and expert-testimony practice.
• LaCapra Associates: Consulting firm specializing in utility rate design, cost allocation, and expert witness testimony for commissions and consumer advocates. Overlaps directly with Rebecca Bachelder's regulatory casework in the Northeast.
• Bates White Economic Consulting: Economic consultancy providing expert testimony and analysis in energy, regulatory, and financial-services matters. Comparable to Blueflame's expert-witness and benchmarking research on payment processing economics.
• MJ Bradley & Associates: Energy consulting and research firm with deep utility regulatory, demand-side management, and rate-design expertise. Matches Blueflame's regulatory advisory practice for utilities and consumer advocates.
• ScottMadden: Management consultancy with a dedicated energy practice covering regulatory strategy, rate proceedings, and utility operations. Directly analogous to Blueflame's utility regulatory services.
• Dove Consulting: Market research and consulting firm where Ed Bachelder previously led 230+ consumer and business research studies. Same DNA as Blueflame's research practice, particularly in payments and billing.

Broad incumbents

• The Brattle Group: Large global economic consultancy with significant utility regulation, expert witness, and financial services research practices. A broader incumbent offering similar expert witness and economic analysis, but at much larger scale.
• ICF International: Major consultancy providing energy, regulatory, and public-sector research services. Overlaps with Blueflame's market research and policy work but operates across a far wider portfolio.
• Charles River Associates: Global consulting firm offering expert witness and economic analysis in energy, financial services, and antitrust. Comparable for utility-rate and financial-services research engagements at broader scale.
• Cadmus Group: Consulting firm with strong energy, environmental, and policy research capabilities. Comparable to Blueflame on the regulatory-research and policy/regulatory affairs dimension, though broader in scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blueflame-consulting-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Blueflame Consulting