Chase K. Maxwell

Practice Focus
Energy
Facility Siting and Land Use
Public Utility Regulation
Energy Transactions
Transmission & Interconnection
Compliance & Enforcement
Renewable Energy
Legislation
Negotiation, Alternative Dispute Resolution & Litigation
Environmental
CEQA / NEPA
GHG Regulation
Consumer Product Compliance

Bar and Court Admissions
State Bar of California
All California Federal Courts

Education
J.D., University of Richmond School of Law, 2006
B.A. and B.S., James Madison University, 2000

Chase Maxwell is an attorney with Ellison Schneider Harris & Donlan. Her practice focuses on energy law and regulatory compliance. She has represented independent generators, multi-jurisdictional utilities, and product manufacturers in administrative law matters before multiple California state agencies, including the California Public Utilities Commission, the California Energy Commission, the Department of Conservation, and CalRecycle. Ms. Maxwell has advised clients in matters involving interconnection and the wholesale market before the California Independent System Operator and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. She has also advised small and renewable electric generating facilities in transactional matters, including power purchase agreement negotiations.

Representative Experience

• Representation of various parties in ratemaking, rulemaking, and complaint proceedings before the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”);
• Amendment of and compliance with conditions of California Energy Commission (“CEC”) licenses for the development and operation of electric generating facilities;
• Participation on behalf of consumer product manufacturers in the California Energy Commission’s Building Energy Efficiency Standards development process and on issues related to the CEC’s Appliance Efficiency Standards;
• Compliance with CEC renewable guidelines and biomethane eligibility matters;
• Representation and advice concerning participation in California Independent System Operator (“CAISO”) stakeholder proceedings, the wholesale power market, the interconnection processes, and other matters under the CAISO’s tariff;
• Provided legal advice to consumer product manufacturers on California’s Proposition 65 law and regulations promulgated by the Office of Environmental Health Hazards Assessment;
• Advise product manufacturers on matters related to CalRecycle’s California’s Rigid Plastic Packaging Container laws and enforcement, and other CalRecycle programs for the management of disposed consumer products;
• Assessment and reporting on matters associated with water supply risk, water rates, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, and other California drought regulations and policies;
• Participation on a legal team defending the Environmental Impact Report for the Delta Wetland Project and counsel on other matters that arise under the California Environmental Quality Act;
• Representation of a geothermal facility in an incident investigation conducted by the Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources;
• Preparation, assessment, and interpretation of power purchase agreements;
• Revision of bylaws and standards guiding the Western Electricity Coordinating Counsel; and
• Advice on matters relating to qualifying facility regulations and pricing.

Representative Clients

Consumer product manufacturers, renewable electric generation developers, gas generation operators and associations, associations and nonprofit advocacy groups

Industries Served

Energy and Consumer Products

Professional Involvement

Chase is currently Treasurer for California Women in Energy and has been on the committee for the organization’s Annual Energy and Leadership Forum since 2017.

Chase was one member of the three member board that began the Sacramento chapter of Young Professionals in Energy (2011 to 2016).

Publications

Recent blog posts include:

• Efforts Underway to Select Year-2 Communities for CARB’s Community Air Protection Program, http://eslawfirm.com/blog/efforts-underway-select-year-2-communities-carbs-community-a
• New Regulations for Reporting Criteria Air Pollutants and Toxic Air Contaminants, http://eslawfirm.com/blog/new-regulations-reporting-criteria-air-pollutants-and-toxic
• California Developing New Rules for Building Decarbonization, http://eslawfirm.com/blog/california-developing-new-rules-building-decarbonization
• First Call for Ideas to Revise California’s Building Energy Efficiency Standards for 2022, http://eslawfirm.com/blog/first-call-ideas-revise-californias-building-energy-efficien
• California to Test LED Lamps Under Amended "Time to Failure" Testing Procedures, http://eslawfirm.com/blog/california-test-led-lamps-under-amended-time-failure-testing
• New Proposition 65 Warning Rules Effective August 30, 2018, http://eslawfirm.com/blog/new-proposition-65-warning-rules-effective-august-30-2018
• California Energy Commission Issues Advisory: Warns of Improper Use in the Advertising of Building Products and Services As “Title 24 Compliant” or “Title 24 Certified.”, http://eslawfirm.com/blog/california-energy-commission-issues-advisory-warns-improper
• CalRecycle’s Enforcement of the Rigid Plastic Packaging Container Law, http://eslawfirm.com/blog/calrecycles-enforcement-rigid-plastic-packaging-container-la
• PG&E Implements Successor Net Energy Metering Tariff, http://eslawfirm.com/blog/pge-implements-successor-net-energy-metering-tariff

Prior Experience

Before joining Ellison Schneider Harris & Donlan, Ms. Maxwell practiced personal injury litigation at Mendes & Mount in Los Angeles. Prior to earning her J.D., Chase worked as a consulting economist at Exeter Associates, a consulting firm that provides economic and financial services to government agencies and large consumers in the areas of energy and telecommunications.