Communications, Energy, and Public Utilities

Bailey Cavalieri's Communications, Energy, and Public Utilities Practice Group possesses the full range of experience and capabilities required to represent public utility companies, competitive service providers and consumers before state regulatory agencies, in state and federal trial and appellate courts, in contract negotiations, and in alternative dispute resolution processes. With nearly 40 years of collective experience in the regulatory arena, we have covered the gamut of traditional utilities regulation, as well as cutting edge issues in deregulation, for the telecommunications, electric, gas, water, and transportation industries.

Specific areas of practice include:

Telecommunications | Energy | Water | Transportation

Telecommunications | Bailey Cavalieri's telecommunications practice area offers a wide range of services at all levels of government and business. Our focus is on representing clients' business and regulatory interests before state regulatory agencies, state and federal courts, in contract negotiations, and alternative dispute resolution proceedings. Our attorneys' experience includes wholesale and retail rate regulation; local interconnection negotiations, mediations and arbitrations; service quality issues; certifications; rulemaking; and the prosecution and defense of competitor and consumer complaints.

Our attorneys are versed in traditional utility regulation and, since passage of the seminal Telecommunications Act of 1996, have assisted competitive local exchange carriers ("CLECs") enter and operate in Ohio's markets. We served as national coordinating counsel for a large telecommunications company in its expansion to become a national local exchange carrier. In addition, we have represented incumbent local exchange companies ("ILECs") interests in meeting new entrants' competitive challenges. We also have assisted interexchange carriers ("IXCs") enter and operate in Ohio's markets.

Our attorneys represented our clients' interests in the extensive rulemakings before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio ("PUCO") that restructured the local exchange market. Our involvement has continued as the markets evolve and regulations are revised to accommodate the maturation of competition in this state.

We have assisted our clients in navigating PUCO regulations and in protecting our clients' interests in court. Our activities have included:

• Representing a large local exchange company in a case seeking alternative regulation of retail rates, including defending an appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court;
• Representing a large local exchange company in a PUC service quality investigation;
• Representing clients in state TELRIC proceedings establishing rates for unbundled network elements;
• Representing clients in PUC interconnection mediations and arbitrations;
• Representing a client in a complaint case seeking to provide a level competitive playing field;
• Representing clients in the formulation of PUCO's competitive local exchange and interexchange administrative rules;
• Representing a client in protecting trade secret cost models from public records request disclosure; and
• Initiating a successful suit in the Ohio Supreme Court to prevent the PUCO from taking action contrary to our clients' interests.

While maintaining these skills to protect our clients' legal interests arising from state agency regulation, we also counsel our clients on their rights, options, and consequences (both regulatory and business) in resolving the myriad day-to-day competitive issues that arise in the new competitive environment.

Energy | Deregulation and competitive issues are the focus of our attorneys' energy practice, and include certification of competitive suppliers and governmental aggregators; the resolution of disputes among suppliers, competitors and customers; generic rulemakings; rate regulation (including municipal rate ordinances and appeals); prosecution and defense of competitor and consumer complaints, including service quality issues; siting power plants and other energy facilities; transactions involving energy assets; and advice and negotiations for special contracts for energy sellers and consumers.

We have assisted competitive energy providers enter and operate in Ohio's markets since the advent of utility restructuring in this state. Although we offer a wide range of services at all levels of government and business, our focus is on representing clients' business and regulatory interests before state regulatory agencies, state and federal courts, in contract negotiations, and alternative dispute resolution proceedings.

We represented our clients' interests in the extensive rulemakings conducted by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio ("PUCO") that implemented the legislation that restructured the electric and natural gas markets in Ohio. Our involvement has continued as the markets evolve and regulations are revised to the dynamics of competition in Ohio's markets. We continuously monitor the electric distribution companies' compliance with their individual electric transition plans for the transition to a competitive market, as well as the incumbent utilities' new regulatory initiatives introduced as the market development periods come to an end. We represent our clients' interests on these initiatives, which include proposed rate stabilization plans, standard service offers, competitive bid procedures, changes to electric utilities' supplier tariffs, and changes to the business relationships resulting from the formation of the regional transmission organizations.

We also have assisted our clients in navigating the regulations imposed by the PUCO, the Ohio Power Siting Board, and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, and in protecting our clients' interests in court. Our activities before these agencies and courts include:

• obtaining certifications to operate as competitive retail electric suppliers and competitive retail natural gas providers;
• representing competitive suppliers' interests in numerous rulemaking proceedings to implement the restructuring of electric and natural gas markets in Ohio;
• representing customers, competitive suppliers, and incumbent utilities in alternative dispute resolution proceedings before the PUCO;
• prosecuting and defending formal complaints that customers, competitors and incumbent utilities have filed with the PUCO;
• initiating a successful suit in the Ohio Supreme Court to prevent the PUCO from taking action contrary to our clients' interests; and
• obtaining certification for siting new generation facilities, as well as electric and natural gas lines.

While maintaining these skills to protect our clients' legal interests arising from state agency regulation, we also counsel our clients on their rights, options, and consequences (both regulatory and business) in resolving the myriad day-to-day competitive issues that arise in the new competitive environment among aggregators, suppliers, and incumbent energy providers and their customers. We also have assisted our clients in related areas, including:

• transactions between utilities, including the transfer of generating units;
• negotiating energy service agreements;
• handling real estate transactions; and
• handling employment-related issues.

Water | Our attorneys provide advice and representation on rate issues, consultation on municipal ordinances, and the prosecution and defense of consumer complaints, including service quality issues.

Transportation | Our attorneys assist motor carriers in drafting contracts with shippers, equipment lease agreements with other carriers, and contracts with independent operators. We also represent motor carriers in generic rulemaking proceedings, regulatory compliance, and in registration matters.