Electricity and Natural Gas

Overview

BakerHostetler’s Energy team offers unparalleled experience and a deep understanding of the energy industry. For decades, we have served energy companies across the country and around the world. We represent industry leaders in some of their largest transactions and handle their most complex litigation and regulatory matters.

Our Energy team also counsels market leaders in regulated and deregulated electricity and natural gas markets around the country. Our clients include power generators, renewable energy developers, wholesale market participants, competitive retail energy suppliers, regulated utilities, energy brokers, and large commercial and industrial energy consumers. We help our clients negotiate retail energy contracts, comply with state regulatory requirements, guide them through state licensing and permitting matters, and help them navigate regulatory problems and challenges including major commission investigations. We appear before public utility commissions, power siting boards, and state regulatory bodies across the United States.

We speak the language and understand the business of the energy sector, and we assist our clients in a full range of regulatory compliance, industry transactions and disputes.

Why BakerHostetler?
  • Our experience spans the entire energy cycle, including power siting, project financing, generation, distribution, local utility matters, competitive supply and energy consumption. This experience gives us the depth and knowledge to achieve the best outcome for our electricity and natural gas clients.
  • We work closely with state regulatory agencies at the staff, commission and political levels to facilitate our clients’ business objectives. We develop creative and effective solutions to complex problems using the full resources of our firm, which includes seasoned regulatory attorneys and federal and state lobbyists.
  • We are experienced administrative law and civil trial lawyers who understand the benefits and risks of proceedings involving regulatory agencies, so we work to skillfully prepare the best case for our clients from day one. While we help our clients avoid litigation where possible, we are well prepared to defend our clients in litigation and regulatory proceedings.

Select Experience

  • Represent multistate competitive retail energy suppliers on compliance and regulatory matters in competitive markets.
  • Represent a large Texas-based competitive retail energy supplier in a major commission investigation relating to retail energy marketing and sales practices.
  • Represent six Ohio electric cooperatives, including three of the five largest cooperatives in the state, for more than 25 years on various matters including board policy, corporate governance, litigation, regulatory, financing, transactions and strategic planning.
  • Represent a wind turbine supplier before the Ohio Power Siting Board.
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Experience

  • Represent multistate competitive retail energy suppliers on compliance and regulatory matters in competitive markets.
  • Represent a large Texas-based competitive retail energy supplier in a major commission investigation relating to retail energy marketing and sales practices.
  • Represent six Ohio electric cooperatives, including three of the five largest cooperatives in the state, for more than 25 years on various matters including board policy, corporate governance, litigation, regulatory, financing, transactions and strategic planning.
  • Represent a wind turbine supplier before the Ohio Power Siting Board.
  • Defended a Florida utility in a lawsuit filed by the city of Marianna, Florida, seeking termination of a retail electric utility franchise agreement.
  • Represented a utility in its acquisition of all equity interests and assets pertaining to a 272 MW electric-generating facility in Colorado.
  • Represented electric utilities in cases asserting that the supplier breached contract warranties, committed fraud and violated federal RICO and state unfair competition laws by providing defective steam generators in nuclear power systems.
  • Represented one of the nation’s largest retail electricity suppliers in its acquisition of a Texas-based retail electricity provider for $270 million plus working capital.
  • Represented a Florida utility in a class action lawsuit regarding regulatory compliance fees.
  • Successfully represented a steel manufacturer in an administrative trial before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) involving a demand by a large electric utility company for millions of dollars in security on a commercial electricity supply contract.
  • Serve as regulatory counsel to competitive retail electricity suppliers in Ohio, with experience advising clients on all aspects of retail electricity marketing and sales in the state and compliance with PUCO regulations.

Recognition

  • Law360: Environmental “Practice Group of the Year” (2017 and 2023)
  • Law360: Energy “Practice Group of the Year” (2023)
  • Chambers USA: Environment
    • District of Columbia (2015 to 2019 and 2021 to 2022)
  • Chambers USA: Natural Resources and Environment
    • Colorado (2014 to 2022)
  • Chambers USA: Oil & Gas Litigation
    • Nationwide (2021 to 2022)
  • The Legal 500 United States
    • Industry Focus – Environment: Litigation (2017 to 2020)
    • Industry Focus – Energy Litigation: Oil and Gas (2015 to 2022)
    • Energy Transactions: Oil & Gas (2018 to 2019)
  • U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms”
    • Energy Law: National (2012 to 2022); Denver (2011 to 2022); Houston (2017 to 2022); Washington, D.C. (2019 to 2022)
    • Environmental Law: National (2013 to 2022); Atlanta (2018 to 2022); Cleveland (2011 to 2017); Denver (2019 to 2020); Columbus (2011 to 2021); Los Angeles (2014 to 2021); Orlando (2011 to 2022)
    • Litigation – Environmental: National (2013 to 2020); Cleveland (2012 to 2016); Orlando (2011 to 2022)
    • Mining Law: National (2011 to 2020); Denver (2011 to 2016)
    • Natural Resources Law: National (2014 to 2022); Denver (2011 to 2022); Houston (2011 to 2022)
    • Oil & Gas Law: National (2011 to 2020); Houston (2011 to 2020)
  • Recognized as one of the top law firms for client service, BakerHostetler was named to the 2020 BTI Client Service 30 for the sixth consecutive year.

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