Since the founding of the firm in 1990, our Energy Practice Group has developed a comprehensive energy practice focused on wholesale and retail issues affecting electricity and gas producers, suppliers and consumers. Our energy attorneys represent and advise a diverse range of clients, including public agencies, industrial consumers, large and small power producers, municipal utilities, small public utilities, community choice aggregators, electric service providers, irrigation districts, and trade organizations. With the emergence of innovative new technologies, including renewable resources, distributed generation, energy storage, and electric vehicles, world-class companies have turned to our firm for assistance in navigating these issues at regulatory agencies in California and throughout the country.
The Energy Practice Group works on a broad range of regulatory and business issues affecting the electricity, natural gas, and manufacturing industries. Our attorneys assist clients with:
We represent clients before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), California Energy Commission (CEC), California Air Resources Board (CARB), California Independent System Operator (CAISO), California Coastal Commission (CCC), and other state regulatory agencies, as well as before various California courts.Our Clients
We represent and advise a diverse range of clients, including public agencies, industrial consumers, large and small power producers (renewable, storage and gas), municipal utilities, small public utilities, community choice aggregators, electric service providers, irrigation districts, and trade organizations.
The Energy Practice Group maintains a diverse focus across critical regulatory and policy matters including electrical transmission access and planning, wholesale and retail market design, resource adequacy, renewable energy, storage, and gas-fired generation development, including siting and permitting, and transactional issues such as energy and capacity sales and direct access purchasing.
Breadth of ExperienceOur Energy Practice Group is also at the forefront of policy and regulatory issues associated with California’s cap-and-trade program, Renewables Portfolio Standard, Resource Adequacy, and new energy technologies. Rounding out the energy practice are attorneys specializing in rate-related issues such as utility tariff and rate disputes as well as energy ratemaking developments at the wholesale and retail levels. Given this breadth of practice and experience, the attorneys of our Energy Practice Group are well qualified to address any energy-related issue or regulatory challenge.
Professional Recognition
Ellison Schneider Harris & Donlan LLP is listed by Chambers USA, a leading worldwide peer-review publication, as among California’s leading energy and state regulatory law practices. Our firm obtained its highest Band 1 ranking from Chambers USA in 2008 and has carried this honorable distinction for seven consecutive years.
In February 2020, Jeff Harris and the Ellison Schneider Harris & Donlan Energy Group were recognized by Chambers and Partners for its expertise and experience before the California Energy Commission. Core regulatory focus extends to site permitting and transmission issues, as well as policy concerning liquefied natural gas and renewables projects.
Chambers USA is one of a series of guides published worldwide by Chambers and Partners, which has been ranking law firms and attorneys since 1990. Chambers interviews a wide range of lawyers and clients to solicit viewpoints on both firms and attorneys. Rankings are assessed based on technical legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial astuteness, diligence, commitment, and other qualities valued by clients. Often referred to as ‘the gold-standard’, Chambers delivers insight and analysis on the global legal profession that is unrivalled in its reach and depth.
