Curriculum Guide · Courses

Professors William Massey and Donald Santa

LL.M Course 2009 (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

Energy markets are dynamic and growing rapidly, creating new business opportunities and presenting new legal challenges not only for traditional energy companies such as utilities, pipelines, natural gas producers and independent power producers, but also for newer market entrants including investment banks, demand response providers, smart grid and renewable energy companies, hedge funds, and large industrial and commercial consumers of natural gas and electricity. The course will focus on the economic regulation of physical wholesale energy markets by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), primarily the regulation of transportation, price and competition in the electric and natural gas markets, by examining six main areas: (i) restructuring and deregulation under the Federal Power Act and Natural Gas Act; (ii) the current model of energy market enforcement and compliance regulation derived, in large part, from securities market regulation; (iii) the legal, regulatory and market responses to ongoing challenges, including market based pricing and preventing market manipulation and abuse of market power; (iv) foundational laws and policies governing energy markets and non-discriminatory transportation by wire and pipeline of the electricity and natural gas commodities; (v) “hot topics” such as the shale gas revolution, smart grid and the challenge of integrating renewables and demand resources; and (vi) the constant interplay between Congress and energy regulatory agencies. Students will gain an appreciation for the legal and market challenges confronted by market participants. Some sessions will feature guest lecturers. There will be no examination. Instead, students’ grades will be based on a final paper requiring legal analysis of actual issues confronting energy attorneys.