Friday, February 28, 7:45 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (7.25 hours of CLE credit, 1 hour of ethics)

Location: AT&T Executive Conference Center, 1900 University Ave., Austin, TX, 78705

 

• 7:15 a.m.: Breakfast is available and registration opens.
   
• 7:45 a.m.: Opening Remarks
   
• 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.: An orientation presentation that provides an overview of: the electric, water/wastewater, and gas sectors; the administrative ratemaking processes for these sectors; and differences in electric utility regulation inside and outside of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) region. (1.0)
  • Speaker: Arthur D’Andrea, Owner of D’Andrea PLLC and Former Chair of the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT)

 

• 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.: A session on ratemaking best practices, including the public policy goals behind legal ratemaking requirements and best practices when representing a client in a rate case before a regulatory authority. (1.0)
  • Speakers: Administrative Law Judge Rachelle Robles, State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) and Charles Griffey (Consultant)

 

BREAK: 10 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. (15 minutes)

 

• 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.: A session on the “test year” for electric and water rate cases. (1.0)
  • Speakers: Arthur D’Andrea (Owner of D’Andrea PLLC and Former Chair of the PUCT) and Aundrea Williams (Texas Water Company)

 

• 11:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.: A session on preparing the rate filing package for an electric or water rate case. (0.5)
  • Speaker: David Berlin (Wilkinson Barker Knauer)

 

LUNCH: 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

 

• 12:45 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.: A session on intervening in rate cases to challenge a utility’s requested rates and other aspects of the rate application. (0.75)
  • Speakers: Katie Coleman (O’Melveny & Myers) and Alton Hall (Adams and Reese)

 

• 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.: A session on administrative law ethics, including the “revolving door” for former Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) staffers and electric industry ethics for lobbyists and lawyers. (1.0)
  • Speakers: Andrea Stover (Pedernales Electric Cooperative) and Emily Jolly (LCRA)

 

BREAK: 2:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. (15 minutes)

 

• 2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.: A session on administrative litigation for rate cases, including discovery, experts, hearing on the merits, and post-hearing briefing. (1.0)
  • Speakers: Cody Faulk (Spencer Fane) and Dakota Parish (Husch Blackwell)

 

• 3:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.: A session on rate cases outside of the ERCOT region. (1.0)
  • Speakers: Marty Hopkins (Wilkinson Barker Knauer) and Cathy Garza (Jackson Walker)

 

• 5:00 p.m.: Closing Remarks

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“NUTS AND BOLTS OF A RATE CASE”

AUSTIN BAR ADMINISTRATIVE LAW SECTION CLE

 

PANEL 1:

 

1. ARTHUR D’ANDREA

Owner of D’Andrea PLLC and Former Chair of the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT)

 

Mr. D’Andrea is a litigator and lobbyist in Austin, Texas, and an adjunct professor of Electricity Law in Lubbock, Texas.  Previously, he was chairman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, director of the ERCOT board, assistant general counsel in the Office of the Governor, assistant solicitor general in the Office of the Attorney General, and an associate in the Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation section of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP. After law school, he clerked for Judge Garwood and Judge Higginbotham on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Mr. D’Andrea is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Molecular Biology, and the University of Texas School of Law. 

 

PANEL 2:

 

2. JUDGE RACHELLE ROBLES

State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH)

 

Rachelle Nicolette Robles is an Administrative Law Judge at the State Office of Administrative Hearings. Previously, she was the Director of the Legal Division at the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC). Before working at the PUC, she worked at three other Texas state agencies: Texas Department of Insurance, Texas Workforce Commission, and Texas Department of Criminal Justice. She was in private practice in New York City before moving to Austin. 

 

Judge Robles went to the University of California, Berkeley for her undergraduate studies, and to the University of California, San Francisco College of the Law for law school. She lives in Austin with her husband, a philosophy professor at the University of Texas, Austin, and their pugs. In her free time, she loves to travel.

 

 

3. CHARLES GRIFFEY

Consultant

 

Charles Griffey has 40 years of experience in the electric power industry.  Since 2010, he has consulted or provided expert witness testimony for fuel suppliers, pipelines, generators, munis and coops, retailers, commercial and industrial customers, small customer coalitions, the Office of Public Utility Counsel, and the Staff of the Public Utility Commission of Texas.  Prior to consulting, he was Sr. Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Market Design at Reliant Energy, Inc., where he served on the Strategic Planning Committee and the leadership teams for the wholesale and retail businesses.  While at Reliant Energy’s predecessor utility HL&P, Mr. Griffey oversaw resource planning, rates, and financial planning, and he was instrumental in helping create the competitive market in ERCOT.  In the distant past, Mr. Griffey served on the staff of the PUC, purchased gas for Austin Electric, and was as an engineer designing a power plant.

 

He and provides expert testimony on electric policy, market design, mergers and acquisitions, resource planning, transmission planning, commercial activities in ERCOT, and numerous other topics.  Mr. Griffey was an Adjunct Professor of Management at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business from 2010-2016, and he holds both a MBA and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Rice.  He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a Professional Engineer registered in Texas.  While not working, Charles has cruised from South Padre to New England on his boat, with several stops in the Bahamas.  He was recently Commodore of the Houston Yacht Club, and looks forward to resuming cruising on a bigger boat.

 

 

PANEL 3:

 

4. ARTHUR D’ANDREA

 

Mr. D’Andrea is a litigator and lobbyist in Austin, Texas, and an adjunct professor of Electricity Law in Lubbock, Texas.  Previously, he was chairman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, director of the ERCOT board, assistant general counsel in the Office of the Governor, assistant solicitor general in the Office of the Attorney General, and an associate in the Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation section of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP. After law school, he clerked for Judge Garwood and Judge Higginbotham on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Mr. D’Andrea is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Molecular Biology, and the University of Texas School of Law. 

 

5. AUNDREA WILLIAMS

Texas Water Company

 

Aundrea started working at The Texas Water Company (TWC) on August 21, 2023. Prior to joining TWC, she held various positions at NextEra Energy Resources, which is a publicly traded company on the NYSE. At NextEra, she was the Executive Director of Regulatory and Legislative Affairs. Additionally, she was the President of NextEra Water Texas and NextEra Energy Transmission (NEET) Midwest, as well as the President of Lone Star Transmission and NEET Southwest. Before her tenure at NextEra, Aundrea worked at NRG for several years, serving as the Vice President of Regulatory and Legislative Strategy and policy.

 

 

PANEL 4:

 

6. DAVID BERLIN

Wilkinson Barker Knauer

 

David is an associate at the Austin office of Wilkinson Barker Knauer where he represents generators and retail electric providers in regulatory matters before the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.

Before joining WBK, David served as a Senior Attorney at the PUCT, where he represented PUCT Staff as the lead attorney in a wide range of proceedings before the PUCT and the State Office of Administrative Hearings. His experience includes comprehensive base rate cases, transmission line cases, and generation cases, providing him with extensive knowledge of Texas energy regulation and administrative law.

 

 

PANEL 5:

 

7. KATIE COLEMAN

O’Melveny & Myers

 

Katie Coleman serves as Managing Partner of O’Melveny & Myers’ Austin office. She has almost 20 years of experience representing clients on complex energy transactions, regulatory policy matters, and administrative litigation, with a focus on electricity.

 

Recognized for her deep knowledge of the electricity market in Texas, Katie works with a wide range of clients, including the Texas Industrial Energy Consumers (TIEC), the Texas Association of Manufacturers (TAM), and individual large industrial users, to navigate regulatory requirements in developing new facilities, buying or selling energy assets, structuring energy supply agreements, and managing energy costs. She assists companies in complying with state and federal laws governing electricity service and participating in wholesale markets. Katie also has unique experience structuring joint ownership agreements for privately owned electrical facilities, negotiating and drafting energy supply arrangements, and developing on-site generation. In addition to her legal expertise, Katie brings considerable technical knowledge to issues involving energy markets and transactions.

 

Katie also has more than a decade of experience litigating contested cases involving electricity issues before the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. She also represents companies in litigation before the Texas Railroad Commission involving natural gas rates and terms of service.

 

Katie received her J.D., with honors, from The University of Texas School of Law, and  her B.A., with high honors, from The University of Texas at Austin. Best Lawyers in America recognizes her for Administrative / Regulatory, Energy Regulatory Law, and Litigation – Regulatory Enforcement (SEC, Telecom, Energy) in Austin, TX (2018-2025), and has named her “Lawyer of the Year" for both Administrative/Regulatory Law (2023) and Energy Regulatory in Austin, TX (2019). She is also recommended by Chambers USA for Energy: State Regulatory & Litigation (Electricity) (2015-2024) and The Legal 500 US for Energy Litigation: Electric Power (2024) and Energy Regulation: Electric Power (2023-2024). Katie was a past President of the Gulf Coast Power Association (GCPA), and currently serves as a GCPA Board member, as well as a member of the Association of Women in Energy and a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation.

 

8. ALTON HALL

Adams and Reese

 

Alton Hall has represented clients in civil litigation and regulatory matters for more than 40 years. He has advised clients on public utility issues since the mid-1980’s and has represented municipalities, universities, industrial companies and gas utilities before state and federal regulatory commissions. Alton has extensive experience litigating rate cases and other matters, including nearly 100 rate cases and other evidentiary hearings before regulatory agencies, as well as numerous proceedings before Texas appellate courts. He has also advised clients on legislative and public policy issues related to public utilities, including a wide variety of matters relating to electric utility deregulation.

 

Alton also represents public and private sector clients in complex commercial litigation, including environmental and toxic tort litigation and other regulatory matters. Throughout his long career, he has represented numerous oil and gas companies in litigation matters ranging from oilfield contamination and underground storage tank disputes to royalty and other disputes. Alton has also advised clients in the home healthcare industry regarding ownership, partnership, civil fraud and regulatory matters.

 

Alton was one of the founders of one of the largest African American-owned law firms in the United States, Wickliff & Hall. He continues to bring to his practice a deep knowledge and understanding of corporate culture, government culture and his clients’ needs for representation by lawyers from diverse backgrounds.

 

Education

• Harvard University Law School, J.D., cum laude, 1984
• Carleton College, B.A., magna cum laude, 1981

 

 

PANEL 6:

 

9. ANDREA STOVER

General Counsel – Pedernales Electric Cooperative, Inc.

 

As General Counsel, Andrea Stover oversees PEC’s legal and human resources departments. Andrea has nearly 20 years of experience specializing in Texas energy and utility law. Immediately prior to joining PEC, Andrea was a partner at Baker Botts LLP where she co-chaired the firm’s Energy Regulatory Section. Recognized as a leading lawyer in her field, Andrea represented cooperatives, electric utilities, power generators, developers, and financial institutions in complex matters involving utility rate cases, infrastructure approvals, project development, and mergers and acquisitions.

Andrea’s prior experience includes providing legal counseling and representing clients before ERCOT, the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and state and federal courts. Andrea holds a Juris Doctor degree from American University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin.

 

 

10. EMILY JOLLY

Deputy General Counsel, Regulatory Affairs – Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA)

 

Emily Jolly currently serves as Deputy General Counsel, Regulatory Affairs for the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). In this role, Emily leads LCRA’s advocacy at the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). In addition to helping develop LCRA’s policy positions on wholesale market and reliability issues, Emily supports LCRA’s legislative efforts and represents LCRA in regulatory and legal proceedings affecting the electric transmission and wholesale power business units. She has served on various ERCOT stakeholder committees and working groups since joining the company in 2018, including the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), the Wholesale Market Subcommittee (WMS), and other subcommittees and working groups.

 

Ms. Jolly earned degrees from Rice University and the University of Texas School of Law. Prior to joining LCRA, Emily worked at Enoch Kever PLLC, representing electric industry clients in rate cases, transmission line routing proceedings, and other projects and contested cases before the PUC and ERCOT.

 

 

PANEL 7:

 

11. CODY FAULK

Spencer Fane

 

Cody Faulk is a partner in the law firm of Spencer Fane in Austin. He, along with his team, represent investor and municipally owned utility clients in both routine and complicated administrative, transactional, operational, and regulatory issues. He specifically focuses on regulatory and enforcement proceedings for utilities before the Public Utility Commission of Texas, Railroad Commission of Texas, TCEQ, and SOAH. 

 

 

12. DAKOTA PARISH

Husch Blackwell LLP

 

Dakota Parish is an associate at the law firm Husch Blackwell, LLP. Dakota’s primary focus is energy regulatory work for power generation companies, retail electric providers, and qualified scheduling entities. Further, he represents clients before the PUCT and ERCOT and provides guidance on a number of related regulatory matters. Dakota also serves as local regulatory counsel for various transactions related to the financing and sale of generation projects in Texas.

 

 

PANEL 8:

 

13. MARTY HOPKINS

Wilkinson Barker Knauer

 

Marty Hopkins advises energy clients on a variety of complex regulatory, litigation, and transactional matters. Investor-owned utilities, renewable and conventional generation, energy storage systems, large flexible loads, energy technology companies, private equity investors, developers, and retail electric providers rely on Marty’s expertise in state, ISO/RTO, and local regulation when developing projects, transacting, and litigating contested cases before state agencies and in state and federal court. She has significant experience with multi-state and Texas-jurisdictional transmission projects and utility rate proceedings. Marty also regularly advises clients on issues related to registration, certification, reporting, and compliance with state commissions and ISOs/RTOs, including the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.

 

 

14. CATHY GARZA

Jackson Walker

 

Cathy Garza is a partner in the Electric Regulatory group in Jackson Walker’s Austin office, where she advises clients in the electricity sector, including investor-owned utilities, power generation companies, retail electric providers, and developers. Her work includes regulatory and commercial litigation, along with compliance issues. She has successfully represented clients in both state and federal courts, as well as various state and federal agencies and arbitration panels.

 

Cathy advocates in contested proceedings before the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the State Office of Administrative Hearings, focusing on rate cases and regulatory applications. She also assists with contract drafting and negotiations, as well as the regulatory aspects of transactions, including FCC licenses.

 

Cathy is committed to promoting programs for disadvantaged business enterprises, minority/women-owned business enterprises, historically underutilized businesses, and small business enterprises. She provides guidance on program-related contract provisions, policies, and procedures to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local laws.

Location:

AT&T Executive Conference Center, 1900 University Ave., Austin, TX, 78705