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Biography
Stephen practices with the energy group. His activities focus on the restructuring of the electric industry, particularly the establishment of regional transmission organizations, access to the interconnected electric grid, the role of energy sellers, and the regulatory review of proposed acquisitions and divestitures. He was an early adviser to entities creating independent system operators, has counseled utilities on the organization of independent, for-profit entities to operate regional transmission, and has provided policy advice to numerous entities on these and related issues. Prior to leaving government service in 1997, Stephen served for thirteen years as the Assistant General Counsel for Hydroelectric and Electric Litigation. In this capacity, he supervised all administrative litigation at FERC in this area, overseeing hearings involving the merger of electric utilities, the development of open access transmission tariffs, and the pricing of ancillary services. Stephen frequently writes and participates in conferences on current issues facing the industry.
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Representative
Experience
RTOs, transmission service and restructuring
- Provide periodic advice to investment bankers regarding regulatory issues affecting energy companies in general and specific market participants
- Represented electric utility in multi-party litigation to create single transmission rate for service within adjacent regional transmission organizations, including qualification for revenue neutrality charges
- Represented electric energy traders in investigation of Western electric markets, including complaint proceedings related to California ISO and PX markets, FERC staff investigations and CFTC inquiries
- Represented large convergent energy marketer in obtaining FERC approval for sale of electric utility subsidiary, including conditions to address alleged anti-competitive concerns related to acquiring entity
- Assisted in obtaining Congressional appropriation to fund regional transmission study for a federal power marketing agency in order to identify economic viability of new coal fired generation resources
- Represented various utilities and independent generators in obtaining approval for acquisition of additional FERC jurisdictional assets
- Helped integrated utility develop regulatory strategy to obtain approval for market based pricing for new transmission assets
- Represented electric utility in settling transmission tariff filing at FERC to implement state retail access, including the development of appropriate ancillary services for retail direct access service providers
- Represented two regional electric utilities in developing an independent transmission company that was to be formed from stock spin-down to shareholders of one company and the creation of an LLC to manage the combined assets of both companies
- Provided advice to several groups of electric utilities and non-profit entities in investigation of structure, rates and other issues related to the creation of regional transmission organizations
- Represented an independent system operator and a regional power exchange in completing the filing of initial service tariffs and answering interventions at FERC respecting those filings, handled negotiated resolution of many start-up issues, including the initial cost recovery for the independent system operator
Merger proceedings before FERC
- Represented a large integrated utility regarding the asset divestiture opportunities presented by a merger of two other utilities
- Represented natural gas distributor and combination gas and electric company in merger proceeding before FERC and successfully defended proposed merger from attack by state consumer counsel regarding argument that merger posed anti-competitive vertical integration issues
- Represented two large public utility holding companies in a merger subject to FERC review, handling negotiations with many diverse interveners and FERC trial staff, reaching many individual settlements that were instrumental to FERC approval of the transaction
Rates, Filings and Approvals
- Represented an independent power producer and marketer in a rate filing at FERC to collect a charge for reactive power service provided by the company to the Bonneville Power Administration from the client's generating units. This filing was successfully resolved by settlement and was the first instance in which a Federal Power Marketing Administration assumed such an obligation
- Represented an independent power producer in a FERC filing to collect for reactive power service provided by its plant to the Western Area Power Administration. This is the first such attempt to collect for such service from WAPA. In conjunction with this matter, we are assisting in settlement talks to resolve a broader set of transmission related disputes among the independent power producer, WAPA, and the control area operator
- Representation of independent power producers in other filings at FERC to collect reactive power charges from Bonneville
- Successfully defended an electric utility in a complaint filed by an independent power company seeking access to the electric utility's lands at no cost in order to effect a generation interconnection. In a case of first impression, we successfully obtained dismissal of the complaint without hearing by establishing that the complainant had misconstrued the intent of FERC Order No. 2003
- Represented electric transmission service provider in satisfactorily demonstrating to FERC Enforcement staff that allegations that company had structured its own generation schedules and transmission usage to benefit its marketing affiliate to the competitive disadvantage of other electric energy marketers did not warrant formal investigation
- Prior to leaving FERC, was instrumental in resolving many complicated rate, merger, and hydroelectric proceedings through negotiated settlements
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Activities and Affiliations
- Listed: Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers in energy law, 2004-2006; Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers in energy law, 2004-2006; The Best Lawyers in America in energy law, 2006
- Served as Vice-Chair: Energy Litigation Committee of ABA Section on Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources
- Served as Co-Chair of Program Committee for Energy Bar Association
- Co Chair: Standard Market Design Conference, December 5-6, 2002
- Member: Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice; Environment, Energy, and Resources; Antitrust Sections of the American Bar Association
- Frequent participant: Symposia organized by academic groups, trade associations, professional associations and commercial seminar companies
- Selected publications and speeches: "Implications of the Energy Policy Act of 2005," Oil & Gas Journal, September 2005; “Plugging in To Fusion,” Public Utilities Fortnightly, August 2005; Presentation, Vinson & Elkins Energy Seminar Series, August 18, 2005, “Domenici-Barton Energy Policy Act of 2005: Focus on Investment”; Concerns in Balancing Incentives, "Transmission Investment," Infocast, May 20, 2003, Washington, DC; New Market Monitoring and Mitigation Measures by ITPs, Transmission Summit 2003, Infocast, January 30, 2003, Washington, D.C.; Basics of FERC Trial Litigation, Energy Bar Association Mid-Year Meeting, November 21, 2002, Washington, DC; Legal and Regulatory Issues for Large RTOs, "Large RTOs: The FERC Initiative and Its Consequences," Infocast, November 12, 2001, Washington, D.C.; "Status of Electric Restructuring and privatization in Brazil," Infrastructure Journal, August/September 2001, Stephen Angle and Christopher P.B. Erckert; Causes of the California Energy Crisis, Panel Presentation at Gazeta Mercantil Conference, Sao Paulo, Brazil, May 17, 2000; Designing RTOs for Competitive Markets, "Power Crisis in the West," Infocast, February 13, 2001; Distributed Generation, Benefits and Requirements, "Pricing Strategies for Distribution Companies," Infocast, January 25, 2001; Evaluating the Role of RTOs and ISOs, "Power 2000 Pricing and Trading Derivatives and Risk Management Strategies for the Restructuring US Power Market," May 10, 2000, Houston, Texas; What's Involved in a Cost Benefit Analysis for Innovative Pricing, "Transmission Pricing: Designing Pricing to Support Your Business Strategies Under FERC Order No. 2000," Infocast, May 3, 2000, Chicago, Illinois; How FERC Order No. 2000 Will Affect Your Ability to Develop Effective Transmission Pricing, "Transmission Pricing: Designing Pricing to Support Your Business Strategies Under FERC Order No. 2000," Infocast, May 2, 2000, Chicago, Illinois; Creating and (Justifying) Incentives for Investments in System Expansion and Reliability, "Transmission Assets Under FERC Order No. 2000," Infocast, April 4, 2000; "Independent Transmission Companies: The For-Profit ISO Alternative in the Quest for Competitive Markets," Energy Law Journal, 19 (2) (1998), Stephen Angle and George Cannon, Jr.
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Education and Professional Background
- Texas Christian University, B.A. magna cum laude, 1971
- The University of Texas School of Law, J.D. magna cum laude, 1974
- Admitted to practice: District of Columbia, 1975; U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia, and 10th Circuit
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