Committee Activity in Review

As published in the NY Business Law Journal:

WINTER 2014 NY BUSINESS LAW JOURNAL
PUBLIC UTILITY LAW COMMITTEE

On October 17, 2014, the Public Utility Law Committee of the New York State Bar Association Business Law Section hosted the Public Utility Law Institute, an all-day continuing legal education program dedicated exclusively to current issues affecting public utility law. The program, which was well attended, included several panels covering a wide range of topics, including:

  • A discussion of the legal issues affecting the New York State Public Service Commission’s Reforming the Energy Vision proceeding in which the Commission is considering a substantial transformation of electric utility practices to improve system efficiency, empower customer choice, and encourage greater penetration of clean generation and efficiency technologies;
  • Legal considerations associated with the increasing reliance on natural gas by electric generating facilities;
  • Recent developments in the telecommunications industry; and
  • The jurisdictional line between federal and state utility regulation.

Each panel included top practitioners in the energy field from both the public and private sectors who were able to provide varying perspectives on each topic. The program’s keynote speaker was New York State Public Service Commissioner Gregg Sayre, who spoke about net neutrality.

-- Bruce Miller, Chair 

WINTER 2013 NY BUSINESS LAW JOURNAL
PUBLIC UTILITY LAW COMMITTEE

Thanks to the efforts of Kevin Lang of Couch White and Mary Krayeske of Consolidated Edison Company, along with committee members Grace Kurdian and Elise Hiller, on November 15, 2013, at this writing the NYSBA Public Utility Law Committee held a full day CLE conference at the Bar Association Center in Albany. The Program covered the following topics:

  1. Cyber Security, with a panel comprised of Carl Patka—NYISO; Will Pegrin, President and CEO — Center for Internet Security; and Robert Mayer, Vice President of Industry and State Affairs—United States Telecom Association
  2. Utility/Business Ethics, with a panel including Kate Burgess, Secretary—New York State Public Service Commission, and Kimberly Strong, Vice President, Business Ethics—Consolidated Edison
  3. Luncheon speaker, Audrey Zibelman, Public Service Commission Chair
  4. Energy Effi ciency, with a panel including Franz Litz—Pace University, Janet Audunson—National Grid, and Peter Keane — NYSERDA
  5. Ethics, featuring Bob Freeman—Executive Director, Committee on Open Government

At this time we are also exploring whether it would be feasible to have a dinner for Committee members during the Winter Meeting. Public Service Commissioner Gregg Sayre has agreed to speak, but we are concerned that hotel space might be a problem for out-of-town members due to the Super Bowl being held that weekend.

We are also working on revitalizing the Committee and expanding and updating the Committee member list.

-- Bruce V. Miller, Chair

Winter 2012 NY Business Law Journal
Public Utility Law Committee

With the publication of Gregg Sayre’s January 2012 report (see Committee Reports www.nysba.org/BLSPublicUtilityReports), an era has come to an end. Gregg, who had undertaken the heroic task of assembling and presenting a comprehensive report on cases affecting the utility industry in New York for as long as anyone can remember, has moved on to become a commissioner of the Public Service Commission. Although we will miss Gregg and his work for the Committee very much, we look forward to inviting him to address the Committee as Commissioner Sayre in the near future.

The public Uitlity Committee is in the process of transitioning to a new Board and exploring topics of interest for a 14th Annual Institute on Public Utility Law likely to take place in May 2013. We anticipate that it will include a full-day continuing legal education course, with faculty from in-house corporate counsel, government agencies and leading law fi rms. Curricula being explored involve the latest developments in the areas of energy and telecommunication regulation and practice, perhaps with an emphasis on ethical standards expected of practitioners before the Commission.

- Bruce V. Miller, Chair

Summer 2012 NY Business Law Journal
Public Utility Law Committee

The Public Utility Law Committee is in the process of transitioning to a new Board and exploring topics of interest for a 13th Annual Institute on Public Utility Law likely to take place later this year. It is likely to include a full-day continuing legal education course, with faculty from in-house corporate counsel, government agencies and leading law firms. Curricula being explored involve the latest developments in the areas of energy and telecommunication regulation and practice.

-- Deborah M. Franco, Chair

Winter 2011 NY Business Law Journal
Public Utility Law Committee

On May 17, 2011, the Public Utility Law Committee co-sponsored the 12th Annual Institute on Public Utility Law at the New York State Bar Association in Albany, NY. The committee co-sponsored this full-day continuing legal education course with the New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Continuing Legal Education and the New York Chapter of the Federal Communications Bar Association. The Institute’s faculty included in-house corporate counsel, government agencies and leading law firms. The curriculum included the latest developments in the areas of energy and telecommunication regulation and practice. It is the committee’s goal to continue to monitor emerging trends in energy and telecommunication regulatory affairs, utility ratemaking and related areas and to encourage its members to present on these topics as developments occur.

---Deborah M. Franco, Chair