Contract Disputes & Litigation
Trusted advisors for navigating regulatory, utility, and stakeholder conflicts
Our energy experts specialize in assisting parties involved in conflicts or disputes, primarily in regulatory and utility-related matters. This includes providing expertise for regulators, utilities, energy developers, investors, and stakeholders. Combining our deep understanding of the energy industry and our economics expertise with our work for more than 30 state commissions and state public utility commissions, we have effectively and efficiently provided insights and strategic advice to help many clients reach successful resolution for regulatory, compliance, and litigation disputes.
Expert testimony for compliance, conflict assessment, and complex disputes
We provide expert testimony in regulatory proceedings, rate cases, and disputes (both litigation and arbitration matters) involving utility practices, resource planning, asset valuation, and investment proposals. Our testimony has spanned cost recovery mechanisms, economic evaluations of projects, and pricing of utility acquisitions. Our experts have testified in venues such as FERC, state and provincial public utility commissions, various US state courts and district courts, the US Court of Federal Claims, the High Court of England and Wales, the International Court of Justice at The Hague, the ICC, and ICSID.
In conflict assessments and dispute resolutions, we review regulatory filings, agreements, and utility proposals to assess risks, economic impacts, and equity for ratepayers and stakeholders. We evaluate power purchase agreements, generation projects, and cost-sharing proposals to ensure compliance with regulations and fairness. Our consulting expertise covers complex disputes such as mergers, acquisitions, and changes in rates or tariffs and includes forensic analyses, regulatory strategy development, and assessments of damages and other financial impacts in disputes between utilities and regulators or stakeholders.
Audits and independent evaluations
We conduct audits of utility management practices and fuel procurement practices to identify efficiencies or conflicts, ensuring compliance with industry norms and regulations. We also take on the role of independent evaluator or monitor to ensure fairness in procurement processes or resource acquisitions, helping identify biases in procurement designs, assessing competing offers, and providing recommendations to commissions or stakeholders.
