Berard, Renee

Glenn Benson, of counsel in the firm's Environment & Natural Resources practice, focuses on providing solutions to regulatory challenges and issues faced by all segments of the natural gas, oil, and electric industries. For nearly 15 years, he has advised and represented natural gas pipeline companies, natural gas storage companies, oil pipeline companies, electric utilities, oil and gas producers, refiners of petroleum products, oil and gas marketers, local distribution companies, liquefied natural gas project developers, independent power producers, power marketers, and hydroelectric project licensees on a wide range of regulatory issues before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), other federal and state regulatory agencies, and the courts. This work includes guiding natural gas pipeline and storage project developers through the process of obtaining, and complying with, FERC certificates of public convenience and necessity; as well as providing advice and representation to companies across all segments of the energy industry regarding tariff issues, Independent System Operator rules, contract issues, enforcement matters, jurisdictional issues, complaints, rate cases, and hydroelectric relicensing. Glenn routinely represents companies in contested natural gas, oil and electric regulatory proceedings before the FERC and in alternative dispute resolution.

Glenn has substantial experience advising energy companies and financial institutions on federal and state energy regulatory issues that arise in connection with pipeline construction projects, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures in the natural gas and electric industries, joint ventures, pipeline service agreements, interconnection agreements, financing and other commercial transactions. Glenn has experience in appellate litigation on review of decisions of the FERC and the Minerals Management Service of the Department of the Interior. In addition, he has experience in transactional matters involving the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005, in obtaining authorizations to import/export natural gas from the Department of Energy, and in obtaining authorizations for oil pipeline border crossing facilities from the State Department. He also has experience in Department of Transportation regulation of pipeline safety.