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On July 24, 2023, McGuireWoods partner Bernie McNamee was quoted in The Wall Street Journal and appeared on ABC News’ “Good Morning America” discussing the impact of the U.S. heat wave on the national power grid.McNamee, a former member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, cautioned that the extreme temperatures blanketing much of the United States show the need to increase energy production to meet demand.McNamee, also a McGuireWoods Consulting senior advisor …

The same environmental law that has been used to stop the development of natural gas pipelines is now being used to hamper the development of electric transmission lines, McGuireWoods Richmond partner and McGuireWoods Consulting senior advisor Bernard McNamee told Infrastructure Investor in an April 5, 2023, story. McNamee, who served on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from 2018 to 2020, cited NIMBYism and the use of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as the heart …

On Nov. 3, 2022, McGuireWoods’ Bernard L. McNamee was quoted in Infrastructure Investor magazine in an article titled “Would a US energy windfall tax be ‘catastrophic’?” The article looked at President Biden’s proposed “windfall profits tax” on oil companies following the rise in profits for oil companies at the same time customers are paying more at the pump. McNamee, a McGuireWoods partner and McGuireWoods Consulting senior advisor, said the idea is potentially disastrous for …

… solar that also don’t have fuel costs and yet power prices are generally set at a clearing price set by natural gas and all resources are then paid at price,” McNamee said. “As we get more subsidized resources, the question is going to become, when are those economic benefits going to pass to customers?”

Politico, The Wall Street Journal, and E&E News quoted McGuireWoods partner and McGuireWoods Consulting senior advisor Bernard McNamee in recent stories on U.S. energy policy, including infrastructure permitting reforms the U.S. Senate will consider this fall.U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., disclosed the agreement to pursue permitting reforms in a July 27, 2022, statement announcing a separate agreement …

Recent proposals by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) about how to quantify and consider greenhouse gas emissions when it reviews applications to construct interstate natural gas pipelines are an effort to expand the agency’s jurisdiction and a precursor to bigger fights, McGuireWoods partner Bernard McNamee said at a June 8, 2022, webinar covered by S&P Global Commodities Insights.“The end point of this is that it clearly looks like FERC is looking …

… avoidance strategies.Associate Anna Horevay (project finance board) serves clients as bond, underwriter, bank, developer and borrower counsel. She is a go-to attorney in the project finance space, particularly through her work on high-profile public-private partnerships.Partner Gerald V. Thomas II (tax authority federal board) chairs McGuireWoods’ Tax & Employee Benefits Department. He focuses on complex transactional tax matters, including M&A, private equity funds, public offerings and REITs. Thomas co-leads …

Politico quoted McGuireWoods partner Bernard McNamee in a March 28, 2022, Morning Energy newsletter item about the risks of Russian cyberattacks on the U.S. energy sector. The Biden administration has recently been warning that critical U.S. industries are at risk of cyberattacks from Russia, and the energy sector is at the top of that list, Politico reported. The FBI warned industry recently of Russian attempts to scan energy firms in the U.S …

The New York Times quoted McGuireWoods partner and McGuireWoods Consulting senior advisor Bernard McNamee in a June 15, 2021, story on the vulnerabilities of Texas’ power system.On June 14, state regulators asked Texas citizens to conserve electricity after soaring temperatures drove demand to record levels for June. The caution comes after severe winter weather led to power outages that left 69 percent of the state’s residents without electricity.The North American Electric Reliability …

McGuireWoods partner and McGuireWoods Consulting senior advisor Bernard McNamee wrote an April 8, 2021, Real Clear Energy article titled “Time to Update Wholesale Electric Markets — But Don’t Forget the Benefits of Traditional Utility Regulation.” In the article, McNamee discussed challenges to the reliability and transparency of the U.S. power grid due to the wholesale market paradigm’s failure to evolve with changes in energy generation and public policy preferences. Seven regional transmission organizations …

… bono partnerships with corporations and nonprofits to support underserved populations in communities across the nation where the firm has offices. Zimmern also served on Law360’s access to justice board in 2020.

Bernard L. McNamee, who returned to McGuireWoods in December 2020 after serving as a commissioner on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, was interviewed by national news organizations covering the tragic power outage that left millions of people in Texas without power during a historic cold snap in February. In a Feb. 19, 2021, Wall Street Journal article, titled “The Texas Freeze: Why the Power Grid Failed,” McNamee commented on the challenges facing wholesale electric markets …

McGuireWoods’ Bernard McNamee was recently quoted on the impact that secretary of energy nominee Jennifer Granholm and new FERC Commissioner Mark Christie may have on key energy and environmental issues.In a Dec. 17, 2020, World Pipelines story, McNamee said appointing former Michigan Gov. Granholm to be secretary of energy indicates “the Biden Administration wants someone who can help work with the major automakers to transition America to electric vehicles” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions …

National legal and energy industry media covered the arrival of McGuireWoods partner Bernard L. McNamee, who returned to the firm Dec. 7, 2020, after serving as a commissioner on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). McNamee is a law firm partner and senior advisor with McGuireWoods Consulting.The National Law Journal, Law360, Bloomberg Law, Thomson Reuters’ Westlaw Today, Politico Energy, the Washington Examiner, E&E News Greenwire, Hart Energy and Power Markets Today were among …

… Departments of the Year awards.“McGuireWoods is recognized nationally as a leader in providing comprehensive legal, policy and business guidance to companies and investors in all sectors of the energy industry,” McNamee said. “I am excited to rejoin the firm and put my experience to work to help our clients achieve their business goals.”