Ted J. Murphy

Ted focuses his practice on federal energy regulation, particularly FERC regulation of electricity and natural gas transmission, markets, and transactions. He also counsels on FERC and NERC reliability issues, advising clients making acquisitions or investments that implicate the Federal Power Act, the Natural Gas Act, the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, and the Public Utility Holding Company Act (“PUHCA”) of 2005, and issues related to the market and reliability impact of increasing demand for electricity and evolving federal energy policies.

Most recently, Ted has concentrated on representing Independent System Operators and investor-owned public utilities in their dealings with FERC, on providing guidance regarding the President’s Executive Orders and new priorities impacting the electricity sector, and on providing regulatory support to the firm’s transactional lawyers in connection with various energy sector deals.

• Involved in various federal regulatory issues encountered by Independent System Operators and Regional Transmission Organizations, including tariff and market rule revisions, tariff waivers associated with market problems, FERC rulemaking proceedings, responding to complaints at FERC, other FERC-related litigation, and reliability.
• Assisted client in understanding and planning for the possible implementation of tariff duties on imports of electrical energy from Canada.
• Advised clients on emerging FERC issues involving the co-location of large data centers with generation facilities and related questions pertaining to load growth driven by the rise of Artificial Intelligence and increasing electrification.
• Assisted clients in identifying and understanding the implications of recent Supreme Court rulings in Loper Bright, Jarkesy, and similar proceedings that limit federal agency powers.
• Represented a coalition of investor-owned utilities in a challenge to certain aspects of FERC’s major new transmission planning rule and in opposing a FERC show cause order regarding transmission funding issues.
• Advised an ISO on policy and appellate issues related to penalties for missed interconnection study deadlines under FERC Order No. 2023.
• Assisted an RTO with FERC issues related to the expansion of its RTO footprint.
• Defended an RTO against complaints at FERC regarding the RTO’s implementation of interregional coordination arrangements.
• Advised a client on issues related to potential prudence disallowances of costs incurred to continue operating coal-fired power plants.
• Part of team representing client in a FERC enforcement matter under the Natural Gas Act that was resolved via settlement.
• Advised an ISO on issues involve capacity market power mitigation measures and related federal state policy conflicts.
• Advised an ISO on legal issues involving innovative carbon pricing proposal.
• Advised clients in connection with FERC and NERC audits regarding operations, compliance, and OASIS issues.
• Worked on various merger and asset transfer transactions involving traditional utilities, tax equity investors, independent power producers, and other market participants, with special emphasis on issues arising under Section 203 of the Federal Power Act, market power, market structure, QF exemption, EWG, and PUHCA issues.
• Advised client regarding FERC natural gas certificate and policy issues.
• Advised client regarding FERC-CFTC jurisdictional issues in the aftermath of the Dodd-Frank Act.
• Advised client and drafted comments both in the NERC stakeholder process and before FERC with respect to the certification of NERC as the “Electric Reliability Organization” (“ERO”) for the United States and ERO budget issues. Advised client on questions concerning ERO/FERC enforcement authority in the reliability sphere.
• Monitored development of NERC and Regional Entity reliability standards and compliance and enforcement programs.
• Advised clients on regulatory and corporate structure questions arising under PUHCA 1935. Arranged for and participated in discussions with SEC staff regarding possible PUHCA 1935 implications of proposed transactions or business activities.
• Monitored the development of federal energy legislation and addressed client questions regarding its implications for FERC and PUHCA regulation.
• Represented an independent power market monitoring entity in the Midwestern United States before FERC.
• Worked on the restructuring of an established “tight” power pool into a new ISO.
• Represented an electric utility in a state proceeding on affiliate code of conduct and other “second-generation” deregulation issues.
• Participated in FERC natural gas rulemaking proceedings.
• Attorney Advisor, FERC Office of Administrative Law Judges, 1996.

• Recommended for Energy Regulation: Electric Power, Legal 500 United States, 2019-2020, 2023-2024

• Member, Energy Bar Association