With more than 25 years of experience, Dave provides strategic legal counsel to electric utilities and their affiliates on a broad range of regulatory and policy matters before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the U.S. Courts of Appeals. Widely recognized for the depth of his experience, Dave has been honored by Chambers Global, Chambers USA, Lawdragon 500, The Best Lawyers in America, Washington DC Super Lawyers, and The Legal 500 United States for his accomplishments in energy regulation.
Dave’s practice focuses on electric transmission issues, including open-access transmission service, cost-of-service rates for transmission and ancillary services, incentive transmission rates, and both generation and transmission interconnection matters. He also has significant breadth of experience with the provision of wholesale distribution service in bilateral and organized markets.
A substantial part of Dave’s work involves advising clients on the complexities of transmission and generation interconnection related to renewable energy projects. Additionally, he provides guidance on North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) compliance, including self-reports, formal audits, and addressing cybersecurity concerns.
Dave is the immediate past president of the Energy Bar Association, further underscoring his leadership and influence in the energy sector.
“David is extremely thorough and his eye for detail is extraordinary.” – Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation) Respondent, Chambers USA, 2024
Experience
Electric Rate Experience
- Transitioning from Stated to Formula Electric Transmission Rates: Representation of investor-owned utilities in filings to transition from stated electric transmission rates to formula rates.
- Bundled Cost-of-Service Rates: Representation of an investor-owned utility in proceedings involving bundled cost-of service rates under a grandfathered tariff.
- Incentive Rate Treatments: Representation of an investor-owned utility in obtaining FERC approval of incentive rate treatment associated with more than $850 million of transmission enhancement projects.
- Depreciation Rate Filings: Representation of investor-owned utilities in limited-scope, single issue filings to implement revised depreciation rates.
- Stated Electric Transmission Rates: Representation of a large independent electric transmission company (formed as a commercial venture between two utility holding companies) in a transmission revenue requirement rate case.
- Annual Transmission Rate Processes: Representation of investor-owned utilities in annual formula rate fillings, annual formula rate filings, and informal data requests under formula rate protocols.
- Market-Based Rate Proceedings: Representation of investor-owned utilities and affiliates in triennial market power analysis filings.
- Other Cost-of-Service Rates: Representation of investor-owned utilities in rate filings for reactive power service; representation of investor-owned utility in filing to update post-retirement benefits other than pensions; and representation of electric entities in developing rates for wholesale distribution service.
- Defending Section 206 Challenges: Representation of investor-owned utilities in Section 206 challenges regarding justness and reasonableness of transmission rates.
Generation and Transmission Interconnection Experience
- Facilitating Replacement Generation: Representation of an investor-owned utility in filing tariff modifications related to the replacement of generating facilities on utility’s transmission system and in associated filing of agreement between utility and independent generation replacement coordinator.
- Modifications to Large Generator Interconnection Procedures (LGIP) to Implement Clustering Approach: Representation of an investor-owned utility in filing to modify its LGIP to transition from a “first-come, first-served” generator interconnection approach to a “first-ready, first-served” generator interconnection approach.
- Order No. 2023 Compliance: Representation of an investor-owned utility in filing to modify its pro forma interconnection procedures and agreements to comply with FERC’s Order Nos. 2023, et al.
- Generation Interconnection at Distribution Voltages: Representation of both investor-owned utilities and generation owners in negotiating interconnection agreements at transmission and distribution voltages.
- Transmission Interconnections: Representation of investor-owned utilities in negotiating transmission-level “wires-to-wires” interconnection agreements with bordering utilities.
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University of Baltimore School of LawJD
Heuisler Honor Society (graduating top 10%)
1998 - Towson UniversityMAClinical Psychology1994
- Albright CollegeBAPsychology1991
- Energy Bar Association, member (1998-Present)
- Energy Bar Association, Ex Officio, President Board of Directors (2024-Present); President, Board of Directors (2023-2024); President-Elect, Board of Directors (2022-2023); Vice President, Board of Directors (2021-2022); Assistant Secretary, Board of Directors (2020-2021); Board of Directors (2015-2018)
- Charitable Foundation of Energy Bar Association, Board of Directors, Ex Officio (2021-2024); Ex Officio, President Board of Directors (2020-2021); President, Board of Directors (2019-2020); Vice President, Board of Directors (2018-2019)
- Foundation of the Energy Law Journal, Vice President, Board of Directors (2024-Present); Board of Directors, Ex Officio (2021-2024)
- Maryland State Bar Association, 1998–Present
- Member, The John Carroll Society
- District of Columbia
- Maryland
- U.S. Supreme Court
- District of Columbia Court of Appeals
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
- Selected for inclusion in America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation), Nationwide, Chambers USA, 2019-2024
- Selected for inclusion in America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation), USA, Chambers Global, 2019-2024
- Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, Energy Law, Energy Regulatory Law, Woodward/White, Inc., 2023-2024
- Selected for inclusion in “500 Leading U.S. Energy Lawyers,” Lawdragon, 2023
- Selected for inclusion in “Legal 500 United States,” Energy Regulation: Electric Power, 2018-2022
- Selected for inclusion in “Legal 500 United States,” Next Generation Lawyer – Energy Litigation: Electric Power, 2017
- Named to “Washington, DC Super Lawyers,” Energy and Natural Resources, Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters, 2023