The energy industry continually transforms in response to political, economic, and technological events. Over the last 20 years, due to increased competition and restructuring, the industry developed to allow market forces to wield a greater influence on consumer prices and services. These developments neither eliminated nor simplified regulation, and as the retail energy markets continue to evolve, market participants need further in-depth knowledge of complex federal, state, and local laws and regulations and a thorough understanding of the evolving policies, procedures, and requirements of the applicable federal and state regulatory bodies.
Barclay Damon’s Energy Markets Team advocates for fair and competitive electricity markets in various forums where energy policies and market rules are developed and impact electricity reliability and consumer costs. We regularly counsel our retail-industry clients on compliance with federal and state law and regulations as well as operational and financial matters, and we interact with senior management to assist in the formulation of innovative legal, regulatory, and business strategies.
Our experience includes:
- Participating actively in proceedings before the NYS Public Service Commission (PSC) relating to retail-market restructuring and establishing state regulations applicable to competitive suppliers, energy brokers, and aggregators as well as related terms and conditions of service.
- Obtaining state regulatory approvals from and making compliance filings with the PSC required for energy-service companies to operate in New York State.
- Counseling competitive retail suppliers, energy brokers, and aggregators on applicable federal and state law and regulations, including employment and labor laws.
- Providing strategic advice and counseling on the resolution of consumer complaints and regulatory-compliance issues.
- Managing government and agency relations, utilizing our retail industry knowledge and relationships with key officials.
- Handling litigation, dispute resolution, and appeals, whether challenging the legality of state energy policies or actions or defending against regulatory-enforcement actions and third-party lawsuits.