Suedeen G. Kelly is co-chair of the firm’s energy regulatory practice.

Practice & Background

Ms. Kelly is an internationally-recognized energy industry veteran and former Commissioner with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). She represents a variety of clients in the electric and natural gas industries on business, regulatory, litigation, enforcement and policy matters such as electricity and gas markets, renewable energy, electricity transmission, hydro licensing, natural gas infrastructure, LNG, electricity reliability standards, carbon emissions, smart grid, energy efficiency and other issues. Ms. Kelly’s knowledge of the national electricity and natural gas industries includes significant experience in infrastructure development and operation, market structures and financial products, emerging technologies, federal and state laws and regulations, impending policy changes and domestic/international market interrelations. She is an experienced litigator on energy and environmental matters in federal and state courts.

Nominated by Presidents Bush and Obama to three terms as FERC Commissioner, Ms. Kelly resolved 7,000 disputes with published Commission decisions and personally authored 100 separate statements during her tenure. She is credited with spearheading change in numerous regulatory policies, including integration of renewables into the grid, transmission interconnection and planning reform, deployment of smart grid technology to the transmission grid, the inclusion of smart grid demonstration grants in the stimulus effort, and natural gas quality standards. Ms. Kelly created a Smart Grid Collaborative between FERC and the association of state regulators to promote technology deployment and helped to grow membership to 30 states. She also pioneered internal strategic planning efforts to enable market reforms to adapt to new Congressional proposals regarding carbon emissions; demand response and efficiency; smart grid and hydrokinetic; offshore wind turbine and photovoltaic technologies.

In addition to her time at FERC, Ms. Kelly served as regulatory counsel for the California Independent System Operator and was a law professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law where she taught energy law, utility regulation, administrative law and legislative process. In 1999, Ms. Kelly worked as a legislative aide to Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), then the ranking member of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee. She also served as chairwoman and commissioner for the New Mexico Public Service Commission, in the private practice of law in New Mexico and Washington, D.C. law firms, and as an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Public Service

  • Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (2003-2009)
  • Legislative Aide, Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) (1999)
  • Chair and Commissioner, New Mexico Public Service Commission (1983-1986)
  • National Institute of Standards and Technology, Smart Grid Advisory Committee (2010-present)

Community Involvement

  • Advisory Board, The Perfect Power Institute, Chicago, IL (2011-present)
  • Advisory Council, Women’s Council on Energy and Environment (2008 – 2012)
  • Board Member, Charitable Foundation of the Energy Bar Association (2010-present)
  • Member, Task Force on Policy and Coordination, American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources (2011)
  • Council Member, American Bar Association Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice (2010-2012)
  • Council Member, American Bar Association Section on Environment, Energy and Resources (2000-2003)
  • Member, Board of Directors, UIL Holdings (2011-present)
  • Member, Board of Directors, Access Midstream Partners (2010-present)
  • Member, Board of Directors, Tendril (2010-12)
  • Council Member, American Bar Association Section on Environment, Energy and Resources (2000-2003)
  • Board Member, Santa Fe Diocese Foundation (1999-2003)
  • Founding Board, Albuquerque Open Space Alliance (1996-1999)
  • Trustee, Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation (1988-1993)
  • Research Advisory Board, National Regulatory Research Institute, Ohio State University (1988-1992)
  • Chair of Advisory Council, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (1979-1981)

Awards & Accolades

  • Chambers USA – America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (2012) - energy: electricity (regulatory & litigation)
  • “Champion 2010” - Women’s Council on Energy and Environment
  • “Top U.S. Energy Leader” (2009) - CNBC Executive Vision
  • Gridwise Alliance Award for Leadership (2008)
  • Lewis & Clark Law School Distinguished Visitor (1998)
  • Susan and Ronald Friedman Excellence in Teaching Award (1995-1996)

Speaking Engagements

  • Presenter, “Developing LNG Markets on US Islands and the Potential Impact on the Gas Stream,” LNG Development, Law Seminars International, June 6, 2013
  • Presenter, “Laying the Foundation for a Sustainable Energy Future: Legal and Policy Challenges,” sponsored by George Washington University School of Law, Husch Blackwell, Environmental Law Institute, and Constellation Energy, April 11, 2013
  • Presenter, “Key Legal Issues Facing the Administration in 2013: Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources,” Environmental Law Institute, February 27, 2013
  • Presenter, “Reconfiguring the U.S. Pipeline Systems: An Overview and Update on Gas Transportation,” The Center for American and International Law, 64th Annual Oil & Gas Conference, Houston, TX, February 21, 2013
  • Presenter, “The Challenges with Building Pipeline Infrastructure for Shale Gas Development,” American Bar Association: Section of the State and Local Government Law Mid-Year Meeting, Dallas, TX, February 7, 2013
  • Presenter, “Shale Gas and Renewable Developments Over the Past Five Years,” UNM Natural Resources Program Lecture, University of New Mexico School of Law, February 4, 2013
  • Presenter, "Electric Reliability," Energy in California Law Seminar, San Francisco, CA, November 13, 2012
  • Columbia Law School, Lecture on Smart Grid, October 16, 2012
  • Presenter, US GridWeek Conference, October 4, 2012
  • Presenter, "Recent Developments in Electric Regulation," Energy in the Southwest Conference, July 9-10, 2012
  • Speaker, "Energy for the Future: Public Utilities and the Grid," ICOSA Magazine Video Production, June 1, 2012
  • CLE Western Transmission Roundup, April 12-13, 2012
  • Regulatory Update on Wind Energy Permitting and Development, September 14, 2011
  • CLE International: Western Transmission Roundup-Meeting the New Energy Challenge, June 16 - 17, 2011
  • Clean and Green Investment Forum, June 6-7, 2011
  • Global New Energy Summit, April 17-19, 2011
  • Presenter, “Extending the Grid: Transmission Siting Issues and How to Resolve Them,” Precourt Institute for Energy at Stanford University, January 27, 2010
  • Platts 9th Annual Gas Storage Outlook, January 10-11, 2011
  • PBU for Clients: What Every General Counsel, Corporate Executive and Association Leader Needs to Know about Working with the 112th Congress and the Obama Administration, November 10, 2010
  • Law Seminars International Presents: Electric Utility Rate Case, November 9-10, 2010
  • Seventh Annual Women in Power® Forum (2010), October 7, 2010
  • Law Seminars International Presents: Utility Rate Case, October 4-5, 2010
  • Platts 2010 Transmission Planning & Development Forum, September 15-16, 2010