Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP attorneys achieved a significant victory that should reduce the bills paid by New England wholesale electric ratepayers to retain two gas-fired generators and their affiliated fuel supplier. In 2018, the owner of Mystic Units 8 & 9 moved to retire the generators, but the system operator, ISO New England (“ISO-NE”) found that the units were...
Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP attorneys achieved another milestone in a lawsuit brought by the Northern California Power Agency (“NCPA”) and the cities of Redding, Roseville and Santa Clara, California, to recover overcharges imposed on them by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation under the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (“CVPIA”).
NCPA and the cities buy hydroelectric power generated by the Bureau’s...
The D.C. Circuit vacated and remanded Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) Opinions No. 569 and 569-A, which had established a new way to set the allowed profit (return on equity, or “ROE”) for electric transmission investment in the extensive Midcontinent Independent System Operator (“MISO”) area.
Spiegel partner David Pomper argued the ROE methodology issues on behalf of our clients (Mississippi...
On August 5, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) orders “re-pancaking” electric transmission rates across the seam between the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) transmission grid and that of Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company (together, LG&E/KU). Ky. Mun. Energy Agency v. FERC, Nos. 19-1236 et...
Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP thanks our clients for their continued support and confidence as reflected in the recognition the firm has recently received from Chambers USA.
For the ninth consecutive year, Chambers & Partners has recognized Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP as one of the nation’s leading law firms in the area of “Energy: Electricity...
On January 25, 2022, finding that FERC’s decisions “present a troubling pattern of inattentiveness to potential anti-competitive effects of PG&E’s administration of its open-access Tariff,” the D.C. Circuit issued a combined opinion granting San Francisco’s petitions for review of two separate Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) orders. The two cases involved longstanding disputes with Pacific Gas and Electric Company...
On January 27, Cindy Bogorad will join a panel discussion hosted by R Street on "Leveling the Transmission Playing Field." Topics will include, in addition to inclusive joint transmission ownership, "independent transmission planning and oversight, equal rate treatment between suppliers and proper implementation of competitive processes under FERC’s Order 1000." More information and a free registration link are available at https://www.rstreet.org/event/leveling-the-transmission-playing-field/.
Spiegel partner Cindy Bogorad will speak on a panel at the "Grid Enhancing Technologies: Potential, Solutions and Challenges" virtual conference. Cindy's panel will address policy and regulatory measures to encourage the wider adoption of grid-enhancing technologies. The conference, sponsored by Global Transmission Report, will be held on December 1 and 2, 2021. More information about the conference is Cynthia S. Bogorad
Spiegel partner Latif Nurani spoke October 14 in a continuing education panel as part of the American Public Power Association's 2021 Legal and Regulatory Conference. The course, "Keeping Pace with Cybersecurity Regulation and Privacy Laws," discussed recent cybersecurity compromises and the evolving regulatory response and how the effect on public power utilities.
Spiegel partner Cindy Bogorad spoke on October 12 at a virtual panel at the Energy Bar Association’s 2021 Mid-Year Energy Forum. The panel, entitled “Beyond Order 1000: New Horizons in Transmission Planning Under FERC’s ANOPR,” addressed FERC’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking, which contemplates revisiting rules governing planning for electric transmission, allocation of costs, and the interconnection of new...
Spiegel partner Katie Mapes moderated a webinar about FERC’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking, "Building for the Future Through Electric Regional Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation and Generator Interconnection." The webinar, entitled "Building the Grid of the Future: A Discussion of Transmission Reform," was sponsored by the New York University State Energy & Environmental Impact Center and touched on "state...
Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP thanks our clients for their continued support and confidence as reflected in the recognition the firm has recently received from Chambers USA.
For the eighth consecutive year, Chambers & Partners has recognized Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP as one of the nation’s leading law firms in the area of “Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation)...
On February 19, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an opinion affirming Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) orders reducing the return on equity (“ROE”) adders paid to three stand-alone transmission companies (“transcos”) operating in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) footprint. Int’l Transmission Co. v. FERC, No. 19-1190 (D.C. Cir. Feb. 19,...
Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP wishes to thank our clients for their continued support and confidence as reflected in the recognition the firm has recently received from Chambers Global.
Chambers & Partners has again recognized Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP as one of the nation’s leading law firms in the area of “Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation) — Nationwide.” Chambers...
The inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris—coupled with the installation of a Democratic-majority Senate and House—means new directions for U.S. energy and telecommunication policy, and changes that are likely to impact our clients. As the Biden-Harris Administration begins, we pause to offer a few thoughts on what we may expect over the next four years. ...
FERC issued an order on October 30 rejecting ISO New England’s proposed suite of “Energy Security Improvements” or “ESI.” Approval of ESI would have imposed enormous charges on New England consumers in return for dubious — if any — regional reliability/fuel security benefits. ISO New England filed the proposal in response to a FERC directive to adopt a...
Presidential candidate Biden and Congress are focused on solutions to the climate crisis. Billions of dollars in new investment will be needed. But money will not be enough. In our op-ed, “FERC's Capacity Markets Limit Clean Energy and Cost Billions; It’s Time for Congress to Act,” published August 27, 2020, in Utility Dive, we argue that...
Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP thanks our clients for their continued support and confidence as reflected in the recognition the firm has recently received from Chambers USA.
For the seventh consecutive year, Chambers & Partners has recognized Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP as one of the nation’s leading law firms in the area of “Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation)...
Spiegel partner David Pomper’s article, “How FERC’s Peers Estimate Equity Costs: A Deep Dive,” appears in the December 2019 issue of Public Utilities Fortnightly. It went to press before FERC issued its Opinion No. 569, which accords with the article’s observation that earnings/book ratios do not represent the capital attraction cost of equity and should not be used to...
Tim Lay spoke on panels at the annual conferences of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) in Tampa, and the Texas Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (TATOA) in Corpus Christi.
The topic of the NATOA conference panel was “Franchise Fees and ROW Management: What’s Left After the FCC’s New Rules?” The topic of the
2022 Chambers & Partners USA and 2022 Chambers Global recognize Spiegel & McDiarmid as a leading law firm in the area of “Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation).”
2022 Super Lawyers
and Rising Stars recognizes
Spiegel & McDiarmid attorneys.
