State Utilities Regulation
Our team develops, negotiates and litigates base-rate and rider-cost recovery cases and resolves issues involving cost of service, rate of return, regulatory accounting, cost allocation, utility taxation and rate design. Often working closely with allied economists, engineers and consultants, lawyers shape applications so clients can move forward with their operations and meet their strategic business goals.
McGuireWoods represents clients before state public utility and public service commissions on matters requiring their assent, approval or cooperation. We assist with applications for general rates, rate adjustments, pilot programs or alternative rates, certification/approval of generation, transmission and energy storage, and distribution facilities. These matters include grid modernization, affiliate relationships, integrated resource planning, demand-side management, zero carbon targets, prudence reviews, rulemakings and other issues.
We also advise clients on the regulatory, financial and operational implications of utility mergers, acquisitions, asset purchases, joint ventures and financings, as well as utility relations with affiliates.
Whether seeking to build new power plants, transmission lines, pipelines or wastewater systems, clients trust our guidance through applications, environmental impact reviews and eminent domain proceedings. The team includes members with government-side and in-house utility experience, and we have productive working relationships with regulators across the country. These assets help us streamline the permitting process, identify potential opposition, and develop sound legal strategies that withstand regulatory scrutiny and judicial review.
For decades, McGuireWoods’ state utilities regulation attorneys have led the way on renewable energy matters, including rate recovery for renewable generation plants, state rules on interconnection, net metering and renewable portfolio standards. We also advise on pilot programs, cost recovery mechanisms and compliance strategies to meet clean energy mandates.
Leveraging the robust consulting and lobbying services of McGuireWoods’ full-service public affairs subsidiary, McGuireWoods Consulting, we monitor state legislative activity and represent clients before legislatures, executive agencies and rulemaking bodies, shaping public policy through strategic advocacy, coalition building and comments on proposed regulations.
Energy industry clients rely on over 200 McGuireWoods lawyers and governmental affairs professionals — including former senior leaders from state public service commissions and utilities — to guide them through the country’s patchwork of state utilities regulations.
National, Tier 1 ranking for energy law.
– Best Law Firms
Nationwide ranking for energy: electricity (regulatory and litigation) and statewide rankings in North Carolina and Pennsylvania for energy and natural resources.
– Chambers USA
Nationwide ranking for energy litigation: electric power and energy regulation: electric power.
– The Legal 500 U.S.
