Energy/Utility Regulation
Balch & Bingham has been counseling clients on energy and utility regulatory matters since our founding over 95 years ago. Today, we continue to be actively involved in administrative proceedings at the federal level and before various states commissions and agencies. As the industry has evolved, so too has the knowledge and experience of our attorneys. Most recently, significant consideration has been given to the many issues associated with developments such as electric deregulation and restructuring, wholesale competition, open access transmission, market structure as well as standards of conduct and other market behavior rules, environmental controls, and renewable portfolios. We have counseled clients on these and other matters from their inception, and thus appreciate the ways in which they affect the regulatory framework under which energy companies and utilities operate today.
Our attorneys counsel clients on every aspect of ratemaking and other regulatory proceedings at the federal and state level –- from issue identification to trial strategy. We have also been involved in appeals of regulatory and ratemaking proceedings to the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals and state Supreme Courts, as well as to the U.S. Supreme Court. Specific subject areas in which we have provided advice and counsel include:
- FERC regulations governing transmission service and interconnection
- FERC regulations affecting generation assets, transactions, and corporate transfers
- FERC Standards of Conduct
- FERC reliability rules and standards under NERC
- FERC regulations governing corporate matters for energy companies
- Evolving FERC requirements for the reporting of energy transactions
- Energy company affiliate relationships and interactions
- State public utility Integrated Resource Planning
- State public utility competitive solicitation (RFP) processes
- State public utility fuel cost recovery
- State public utility environmental compliance cost recovery
- State public utility rate design
- State public utility service regulations and tariff requirements
In addition, because of our experience in energy regulatory matters, we often counsel clients regarding the practical impact of proposals for energy legislation -– both as the legislation is being considered and as it is implemented through agency notice-and-comment proceedings.
