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Energy Regulation

Scope of Practice | Representative Experience – Sectors | Stimulus Act Insights

Overview
Energy businesses operate in a fluid environment. At the same time, the energy industry remains one of the most heavily regulated in the United States. This interaction of dynamic change and cyclical regulatory regimes presents unique challenges. The law firm of Vinson & Elkins offers a robust understanding of business and of current regulatory schemes and worldwide industry operations, enabling us to help clients maximize their opportunities in high risk/high reward settings.
Consistently recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® and Chambers & Partners, Vinson & Elkins’ Energy Regulatory practice brings a range of experience — litigation skills, transactional expertise, and an understanding of varying regulatory regimes — to whatever the regulatory challenge may be. For decades, we have successfully represented our clients before federal agencies, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), the Department of Energy (DOE), as well as Texas state agencies including the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Railroad Commission of Texas (RCT). Whether the arena is natural gas, petroleum, electricity, coal, or renewables, or the focus is on negotiating a complex LNG transaction, obtaining an essential declaratory order from FERC, securing DOE grant funds or arguing a crucial issue in an appellate court, V&E’s regulatory lawyers are tested and ready to take on your challenge.

Scope of Practice
V&E’s Energy Regulatory practice serves the needs of clients with interests in the electric power and renewables, natural gas pipeline, oil pipeline, and surface mining industries. In each of these sectors, our practice offers unique strengths and exceptional depth of experience:

Regulatory Litigation
Our lawyers have broad experience before the FERC and various state regulatory agencies, ranging from the most complex of certificate applications for our natural gas clients, to pursuing electric transmission and distribution projects, cost of service rate cases and prudence reviews, regulatory approvals, and litigating the most significant and challenging oil pipeline cases.
Appellate
We regularly handle appeals in some of the most complex and significant regulatory matters during the last decade.
Transactions and Counseling
Our Energy Regulatory lawyers provide navigation to clients whose business plans and transactions are affected by federal and state statutory regimes and regulatory authorities. The trend toward "light-handed" energy regulation has altered, rather than eliminated, the complex landscape faced by our clients operating under the Natural Gas Act, the Federal Power Act, the Interstate Commerce Act, the Energy Policy Acts of 1992 and 2005, and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.

Representative Experience – Energy Sectors

Natural Gas and LNG
Our lawyers are principal regulatory counsel for the corporate owner of one of the largest and most extensive interstate natural gas pipeline systems in the United States. We have also worked with clients with interests in a variety of major natural gas and LNG projects around the world.
Oil Pipelines
V&E lawyers have been involved in many of the major oil pipeline regulation cases decided in the last 30 years, including work for various owners of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (or TAPS) since its inception in the early 1970s. In the Lower-48, our lawyers represent a range of major crude oil, refined petroleum products, and natural gas liquids pipeline systems.
Electric Power and Renewables
V&E lawyers have wide experience in all regulatory aspects of electric power generation, transmission, and distribution, including close familiarity with regulatory and business issues affecting fuel supply and transportation (including coal mining), wheeling, and power purchases and sales.