Incorporating State Public Policy Goals in Wholesale Electricity Markets

The Guarini Center and a group of leading energy policy experts discussed “Incorporating State Public Policy Goals in Wholesale Electricity Markets.” Panelists examined a range of policy options for advancing state objectives, including transitioning towards low-carbon generation resources, and intersections with federal law.

1.5 CLE credits offered in the areas of Professional Practice category. The credit is both transitional and non-transitional.

The speakers:

Michael Gergen (’92), Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP and Adjunct Professor of Law, NYU Law (introductory remarks)

Jane Quin, Director, Energy Markets Policy Group, Con Edison

David Schwartz, Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP (moderator)

Abraham Silverman, Assistant General Counsel, NRG Energy

Scott Weiner, Deputy for Markets and Innovation, New York State Department of Public Service

This event was sponsored by Latham & Watkins LLP.

Speaker bios:

Michael Gergen (’92), a partner in Latham & Watkins LLP’s Washington, D.C. office, is a member of the Energy Regulatory and Markets Practice as well as the Project Finance Practice.

Mr. Gergen has extensive experience developing practical applications of economics, finance and regulatory law to assist clients involved in the electric, natural gas and other network industries in the United States and internationally. Mr. Gergen represents entities involved in electric generation, transmission and distribution, natural gas transportation, storage and distribution, electric and natural gas marketing and trading, and finance, as well as international governments and financial institutions. Mr. Gergen also assists clients regarding federal and state financing support and incentive programs for clean energy technologies, products and services.

Mr. Gergen has assisted clients on a wide range of transactional, controversy, policy and legislative matters and has represented clients both in commercial negotiations and before various federal and state regulatory agencies, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and various state public utility commissions, and numerous federal and state courts and arbitral bodies. Mr. Gergen also has served as an economist for an investor-owned public utility, as well as an economic consultant for a state energy commission.

Mr. Gergen is listed as a leading energy attorney in Who’s Who Legal and in Chambers USA, which describes him as having “developed a positive reputation in the industry as ‘a quick, clever and creative lawyer.’” He has given a variety of speeches on energy regulatory and policy matters. He is a member of the Federal Energy Bar Association and the American Bar Association. Mr. Gergen was selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2012 as a recommended attorney in Energy Law. Mr. Gergen is an Adjunct Professor of Law and is a member of the Board of Advisors for the Institute for Policy Integrity at the New York University School of Law.

David Schwartz, is a partner in the Finance Department of Latham & Watkins LLP’s Washington, D.C. office. He serves as global Chair of the Energy Regulatory and Markets Practice, is a member of the Project Finance Group, and is Co-chair of the firm’s Global Energy – Power Industry Group. He has extensive experience representing entities involved in electric generation, transmission and distribution, electric and gas marketing and trading, and gas transportation and distribution.

Mr. Schwartz has been active in the formation of the developing electricity markets in the United States; led transactional and regulatory teams in mergers and acquisitions and divestitures of energy companies and assets; litigated contract, rate and transmission access disputes; and drafted federal and state energy legislation. He also has extensive experience in negotiating power purchase and sale agreements, electric transmission agreements, natural gas transportation agreements, energy management agreements, and electric and gas interconnection agreements.

Mr. Schwartz regularly advises clients on energy matters before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), various state public utility commissions, the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Department of Energy (DOE).

Mr. Schwartz is consistently recognized as a top energy attorney in Corporate Counsel Magazine, Best Lawyers in America, Who’s Who Legal: Energy, Chambers USA, Chambers Global, and The Legal 500 US, which recently selected him as a “Leading Lawyer” for his transactional energy practice.

Mr. Schwartz is a member of the American Bar Association and has held leadership positions in the Energy Bar Association.

Abraham Silverman, heads the regulatory affairs group and is chief regulatory counsel for NRG Energy, Inc., an independent power producer with over 50 GW of generation nationwide, and one of the largest solar and wind portfolios in the word. NRG, through its various retail affiliates, serves over 3 million retail customers in 16 states. Abe counsels the company on regulatory strategy and compliance issues, and does extensive wholesale and retail market design work in each of the organized markets, as well as in the non-organized markets. Prior to joining NRG in 2008, Abe served at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Office of General Counsel for over three years, and was an associate at the law firm of Perkins Coie, based in Washington, DC. Abe graduated from the University of Maryland with a B.S. in Geology and a B.A. in English, and then received his Juris Doctor from The George Washington University School of Law.

Scott Weiner is the Deputy for Markets and Innovation at the New York State Department of Public Service, which has a broad mandate to ensure access to safe, reliable utility service at just and reasonable rates. In this role, Scott is responsible for leading the Department’s staff activities in support of New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) initiative. Scott joined the Department after a distinguished career as an executive, educator and public official.

Scott has also served as a senior executive in a number of private and public corporations including as President of Ballard Generation Systems, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Petra Solar, Senior Vice President for Market Structure and  Regulatory Affairs at Sithe Energies and Vice President for Corporate Development at General Public Utilities. Mr. Weiner has previously served on the board of many industry associations and non-governmental organizations including as Chair of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy, the Solar Energy Industries Association, the Electric Power Supply Association, the National Hydrogen Association and the Center for Sustainable Development in the Americas.

Scott has served in a number of senior positions in New Jersey government. These include appointments as the Executive Director of the N.J. Election Law Enforcement Commission, President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, Commissioner of the
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Energy, Chief Counsel to former New Jersey Governor Jim Florio and as a Special Assistant Attorney General and Special Counsel to former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine. He also served as a Borough Councilman and as President of the Borough Council in Fort Lee, NJ.

Scott is the founding Director of the Center for Energy, Economic and Environmental Policy at Rutgers University and has served as a Senior Policy Fellow and Faculty Fellow at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.