Energy Regulation

Wilkinson Barker Knauer attorneys advocate and litigate in state utility commissions and federal and state courts on behalf of energy industry clients.  In addition, we work with utilities and utility vendors on transactions in the utility energy sector.  Our clients include investor-owned utilities, utility fuel suppliers and rural electric co-operatives.  In recent years, we have been involved with topics as wide-ranging as cost-of-service and rate design, performance- and formula-based ratemaking, integrated resource planning, facility CPCN proceedings and fuel-switching.  Our experience includes litigating in courts, participating in and litigating in administrative proceedings and advocating policy at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and other regional regulatory forums.

Our expertise straddles the intersection of energy and communications networks, with significant policy expertise in the smart grid arena at the state and federal regulatory levels.  Wilkinson Barker has been at the forefront in working on innovative performance-based regulatory solutions that create incentives for utilities to make prudent investments in energy-saving technologies and grid modernization.  In addition, we are involved in current regulatory controversies involving power plant retirements and fuel conversions throughout the mountain West, Southwest and Midwest.   On transactional matters, our attorneys assist clients in crafting and negotiating power plant operating agreements, developing agreements concerning transmission and distribution networks, and deploying advanced metering infrastructure.  

Our attorneys have appeared in numerous states’ utility commissions, testified before Congress, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and state legislatures, and qualified as expert witnesses in state and federal courts on utility regulatory matters.