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Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Practice
"Troutman Sanders knows how to get things done at FERC" - Client
Troutman Sanders has one of the largest and most successful Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) practices in the United States, with over 25 attorneys engaged exclusively or largely in FERC matters. Many of our energy regulatory lawyers have spent their entire careers representing clients in all facets of the domestic electric and natural gas industries. Some have either written or influenced key provisions of federal statutes and regulations, such as the Energy Policy Acts of 1992 and 2005.
Several members of our team served in high-level positions at FERC, such as Co-Practice Group Leader Cliff Sikora (Legal Advisor to a Commissioner and Supervisory Attorney), Dan Larcamp (Chief of Staff to FERC Chairman), and Fred Springer (Director of the Office of HydroPower Licensing) and maintain excellent relationships with FERC Commissioners and Staff. In addition, Bonnie Suchman served as DOE Special Counsel for Electric Utility Restructuring and Attorney Advisor. Others on the team have held senior in-house legal positions with major companies in the electric and natural gas industries. In addition, our bench is deep with senior, mid-level and junior associates who bring significant energy regulatory experience and client contact to the table.
FERC Practice
Our FERC lawyers specialize in the following concentrations. - Electric utility ratemaking and rulemaking proceedings.
- Authorization and renewal of electric market-based rates.
- Electric utility merger proceedings at FERC, the SEC, and the DOJ.
- Revision of tariff and market design protocols for several regional transmission organizations.
- Negotiation of power purchase agreements governing the sale and scheduling of transmission of wholesale bulk power.
- Negotiation of generation ownership agreements, operating agreements, and interchange agreements.
- Development and establishment of internal codes of conduct governing inter-affiliate sales of goods and services and the sharing of market information.
- Comprehensive industry restructuring rulemaking proceedings and Congressional hearings.
- Natural gas utility ratemaking and rulemaking proceedings.
- Negotiation of natural gas supply and purchase contracts, natural gas transportation contracts, gathering contracts, exchange contracts, and natural gas trading contracts.
In addition, the firm has been involved in the following recent high profile and precedent-setting regulatory matters:
Withdrawal from a Regional Transmission Organization
The firm obtained approval for a utility to withdraw from the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator and to initiate third party administration of its transmission tariff.
Mergers & Acquisitions
The firm has obtained prompt FPA Section 203 approvals for many critical merger and acquisition transactions during times of extreme regulatory and market volatility in the electric industry including, most recently, PNM Resources/TNP Enterprises (2005), Ameren/Illinois Power (2004), and UniSource/KKR (2004).
Corporate Restructurings and Divestitures
The firm achieved precedent-setting FERC approvals for (a) the formation and spin-out of an unregulated, generation-only subsidiary of a large public utility holding company with a long-term market-based power sales arrangement back to its franchised public utility affiliate (Illinova Energy) and (b) the formation and spin-out of a stand-alone, transmission-only business from a large electric utility, with highly favorable rate and tax treatment (International Transmission Company).
Counseling Regarding Midwest Blackouts
The firm represented and advised one of the Midwestern utilities most severely affected by the massive, multi-region blackouts on August 14, 2003 with respect to regulatory, litigation, and legislative matters arising therefrom.
California Energy Crisis
The firm was extensively involved on multiple fronts, including negotiation and approval of reliability must-run agreements with the CAISO, the California Refund Proceeding (100 Days of Discovery), Western Markets Investigation, and FERC proceedings to change market rules and structures, including imposition of price caps, development of forward markets, and modification of ISO management and governance structures as well as rates, terms, and conditions of service therein.
Corporate Accountability, Compliance, and Enforcement Actions
In the wake of Western Markets/Enron scandals, the firm undertook legal and regulatory compliance audits for several large utilities in different regions of the country, as well as a large energy trading company; developed compliance programs for Order No. 2004 affiliate standards of conduct, and market behavior rules (including price reporting protocols); and represented several companies in investigative proceedings initiated by FERC’s Office of Market Oversight and Investigations (OMOI).
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