Melissa is an energy attorney and focuses her practice primarily on advising and representing utilities in connection with regulatory litigation matters. She has advised clients on trade secret matters, prudence issues, and construction monitoring proceedings for nuclear plant cost recovery; state ratemaking proceedings, including cost-of-capital issues; nuclear plant development cost recovery; integrated resource planning issues; and Georgia Territorial Act disputes.

Before becoming an attorney, Melissa was employed by Southern Co. subsidiaries, where she obtained a broad understanding of the electric utility industry through her participation in Georgia Power’s professional development program. During this program, she completed rotations in the areas of distribution, generation resource planning, transmission planning, and financial reporting at Georgia Power, as well as financial reporting and regulatory accounting at Gulf Power Company. Upon completing that program, Melissa joined Georgia Power’s regulatory accounting organization, where she supported the company in base rate case and numerous generation resource certification proceedings.

Melissa has also provided support with respect to corporate governance and board of director matters for two major Georgia corporations, and has experience with entity management, including international subsidiaries. Her prior utility and regulatory accounting experience further enhances the legal advice she gives her clients. In addition, Melissa has experience as part of an in-house legal department and thus is able to consider her clients’ issues from both an independent outside-counsel perspective and a corporate management and in-house perspective.

• Counseled and prepared numerous client witnesses for participation in state regulatory proceedings.
• Assisted in obtaining state regulatory approval of a natural gas/electric utility merger involving several state jurisdictions.
• Helped obtain verification and approval of costs in nuclear construction monitoring proceedings and approval of new cost forecasts.
• Worked with a client in drafting a form agreement for rooftop solar installations.
• Assisted in drafting and executing distributed generation power purchase agreements and amendments and in connection with contract administration and enforcement matters for one of the largest voluntary renewable programs in the U.S.

• Best Lawyers in America®: Ones to Watch: Energy Law (2022-2025)