- Represented clients in self-reporting and other FERC Office of Enforcement investigation matters.
- Provided best-practices recommendations and guidance for combination electric/gas utilities.
- Provided counsel and assistance to several utilities with respect to audits and investigations by FERC’s Office of Enforcement. Work was in connection with compliance with standards of conduct, affiliate restrictions, Open Access Same-time Information Systems (OASIS) regulations, and the utilities’ open access transmission tariffs.
- Created and provided compliance training for utilities regarding FERC’s rules and regulations, including standards of conduct, affiliate restrictions and Open Access Transmission Tariff (OATT) compliance.
- Assisted in audit preparation and response to a FERC financial audit.
- Represented and counseled companies and individuals in FERC Office of Enforcement investigations into electricity-trading activities.
- Counseled utilities regarding generator, load, and transmission interconnection agreements.
- Filed multiple interconnection queue reform proposals with FERC.
- Reviewed and negotiated interconnection agreements and transmission-to-transmission interconnection agreements for several investor-owned utilities.
- Advised clients on the treatment of generator tie lines.
- Filed and litigated a case involving delays in an RTO large-generator interconnection process, which resulted in the overhaul of the RTO interconnection process.
- Provided advice and counsel to investor-owned utilities on generator and transmission interconnections, including the following:
- Analyzing appropriate application of first-come, first-served policy.
- Negotiating, drafting, and filing interconnection agreements (load, generation, and wires-to-wires).
- Modifying and filing executed interconnection agreements.
- Represented a large, vertically integrated utility in FERC administrative litigation over market-based rate authority.
- Represented vertically integrated utilities, nonutility generators, and power marketers in change-in-status filings, triennial updates and applications for market-based rate authority (including submittal of delivered price test analyses of generation market power).
- Represented power marketers in obtaining initial market-based rate authority.
- Represented renewable developers in obtaining initial market-based rate authority.
- Counseled utilities on mitigation strategies related to market-based rate authority.
- Filed and defended market-based rate mitigation applications at FERC.
- Represented two large, vertically integrated utilities in their acquisition by an international utility holding company.
- Represented a utility holding company in its divestiture of a merchant generating business.
- Represented a utility holding company and its subsidiary in the divestiture of gas-fired generating assets.
- Represented a transmission owner in its acquisition of various transmission facilities.
- Represented a utility holding company in an intra-corporate reorganization resulting in the merger of three affiliated utilities.
- Represented several utilities in purchases and sales of power plants.
- Represented a power marketer in a transaction resulting in an upstream change in control of the marketer.
- Represented a vertically integrated utility in its acquisition of several high-voltage transmission lines.
- Represented a utility holding company in a sale to a private investor.
- Stated Transmission Rates — In the past several years, our attorneys have prepared and defended full cost-of-service transmission-rate cases for several utilities adopting fixed, or stated, transmission rates.
- Formula Transmission Rates — Many transmission owners now use formula rates for transmission service. While still based on cost-of-service principles and inputs, formula rates present different opportunities and challenges for recovering a transmission-revenue requirement over time. Our attorneys have considerable experience with formula rates and their implementation protocols.
- Production-Side Rates — Many power sales or bundled-requirements sales are still made on a cost-of-service basis. Our attorneys have prepared and filed rate cases for requirements service in recent years and have considerable experience in this area.
- Represented a vertically integrated utility in RFC “693 Standards” and Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) compliance audits.
- Provided counsel and advice to electric utilities regarding the establishment and enforcement of mandatory NERC reliability standards associated with the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
- Provided counsel and assistance with numerous utility audits and investigations by NERC, regional entities and FERC’s Office of Enforcement regarding compliance with NERC reliability standards, including those related to CIP.
- Advised on the development of a compliance program implementing mandatory NERC national and regional reliability standards.
- Represented a variety of stakeholders on numerous issues concerning the RTO market design and implementation.
- Counseled western transmission-owning utilities in issues related to the development of a Western Energy Imbalance Market.
- Obtained precedent-setting FERC approval of an investor-owned utility’s plan to withdraw from an RTO and utilize third-party tariff administration. Duties included drafting contracts with third-party administrators and negotiating withdrawal from the RTO and handling related issues with transmission customers.
- Advised a midwestern utility with regard to the Midcontinent ISO tariff filings and stakeholder proposals on resource adequacy. Represented a transmission-owning member of PJM in a FERC proceeding on capacity market design. Also represented a generation owner in the NYISO in a FERC proceeding on capacity market implementation issues.
- Counseled merchant generators in FERC proceedings involving design and operation of bid-based competitive markets in New England. Our work included the development of market rules governing congestion management, reliability services, market power monitoring and mitigation, and new generator interconnections.
- Provided advice and counsel to investor-owned utilities on generator and transmission interconnections. Our work included analyzing appropriate application of first-come, first-served policy, negotiating, drafting and filing interconnection agreements, and modifying and filing executed interconnection agreements.
- Represented a midwestern utility in proceedings related to Midcontinent ISO’s transmission cost-allocation methodology.
- Defended participating transmission owners in a complaint against prudency of formula rate costs.
- Represented a Midwest utility regarding implementation and conversion from a stated rate to a formula-transmission rate and qualification for transmission-rate incentives.
- Counseled independent generation developers on issues related to participation of renewable resources in the RTO markets.
- Represented a demand-response aggregator in seeking support and guidance relating to accounting issues associated with revenues from the PJM programs.
- Represented a New York transmission owner in a case regarding its allocation of transmission congestion contracts in the New York ISO market.
- Represented the California ISO regarding a FERC proposal for long-term transmission rights.
- Providing ongoing counsel and advice to electric utilities regarding the establishment and enforcement of new mandatory North American Electric Reliability Corporation reliability standards pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
- Provided counsel and assistance with numerous utility audits and investigations by FERC’s Office of Enforcement regarding compliance with FERC’s Standards of Conduct, Code of Conduct, and OASIS regulations and compliance with the utilities’ open-access transmission tariffs.
- Provided guidance and strategic advice for meetings with Office of Enforcement senior staff.
- Assisted clients in preparing market-based rate applications and evaluating issues related to RTO markets as part of a market analysis.
- Counseled multiple transmission owners regarding day-to-day compliance with Standards of Conduct issues, including protection of non-public transmission function information.
- Counseled utility holding companies on pricing rules for affiliate transactions of non-power goods and services.
- Counseled members of utility holding companies on FERC regulations regarding affiliate power sales.
- Counseled multiple utilities on cross-subsidization, ring-fencing, and other affiliate issues relates to mergers, acquisitions, and other corporate transactions.
- Represented a coalition of interconnection and transmission customers in a complaint and petition for order under Section 211A of the Federal Power Act against a federal power marketing agency alleging unduly discriminatory curtailment practices and interconnection agreement and OATT violations.
- Represented an investor-owned electric utility in the successful withdrawal from an RTO.
- Served as counsel to a utility in successful declaratory action to protect grandfathered transmission rights.
- Represented a major wind developer before FERC and BPA on issues related to the development and integration of wind and other variable energy resources, including generation imbalance, wind integration charges, and self-supply of wind balancing services.
- Represented a utility in the review of transmission transactions and compliance with OATT and FERC regulations. Counseled utilities regarding interpretation and implementation of the utilities’ open access transmission tariffs.
- Counseled utilities on the proper use of network and point-to-point service.
- Advised a competitive transmission developer regarding the RTO developer qualification process in connection with the post-Order No. 1000 and the Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO) qualification processes.
- Defended a MISO transmission owner against a complaint alleging that the client did not in fact have the right to develop a new 765 kV multivalue project (MVP). FERC summarily ruled in favor of our client.
- Brought a complaint against a transmission owner who refused to properly share development rights in connection with an MVP.
- Obtained transmission-rate incentives for a MISO transmission owner seeking to develop two new MVPs.
- Represented the off-taker of transmission capacity for a cross-border merchant DC transmission line.
- Served as lead counsel in the creation of International Transmission Company (ITC) from DTE Energy, and the sale of that company to private equity investors, including Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts. Our client, the seller of ITC, received a record price for the asset (approximately 1.8 times book value).
- Represented Wisconsin Energy in the transfer of its transmission assets to American Transmission Company.
- Represented a foreign transmission EPC company in identifying and securing transmission project opportunities in the United States.
- Represented a midwestern investor-owned utility in the purchase of Illinois Power’s transmission and distribution assets.
- Represented the lead underwriter regarding a proposed transmission company IPO.
- Negotiated a 138 kV transmission line undergrounding and river-crossing replacement agreement with a condominium tower developer and customer-built line extension agreements for main-grid transmission facilities and distribution facilities on behalf of an investor-owned electric utility.
- Negotiated numerous asset dispositions involving sales of transformers, substations, pole lines, and associated rights-of-way to customers and public power entities on behalf of investor-owned electric utilities.
- Led a group of eight utilities in obtaining regulatory approvals to restructure a $3 billion electric market in New York state. The result was FERC approval of a comprehensive restructuring of the wholesale electricity market, including the formation of a nonprofit independent system operator, implementation of a congestion management pricing system, and the establishment of auctions for financial hedges. We also prepared all related transmission tariffs and agreements.
