Brian Zimmet is a partner in Venable’s energy practice group with a broad range of experience in federal regulation and restructuring of the electric utility industry.

In recent years, Mr. Zimmet’s practice has focused on the regulation of reliability matters by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), and Regional Entities pursuant to FPA Section 215.  Mr. Zimmet has provided compliance counsel to electric utilities on reliability issues, and represented electric utilities in NERC and Regional Entity audits and investigations.

Mr. Zimmet’s practice also has encompassed almost all other aspects of federal regulation and restructuring of the electric utility industry, including: open access transmission requirements promulgated by the FERC, including proposed new planning and cost-allocation requirements; standards of conduct; generator interconnection rules; market-based rates and codes of conduct; FERC rules prohibiting market manipulation; FERC investigations of alleged market manipulation; transmission ratemaking, including FERC rules on incentive rates; FERC approvals of transactions pursuant to Federal Power Act Section 203; designation of National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors and related FERC backstop transmission siting authority; market design in RTOs and ISOs; issues involving the division of jurisdiction between state and federal regulators; and state restructuring issues.  Mr. Zimmet also has experience advising natural gas companies on issues arising under the Natural Gas Act and Natural Gas Policy Act, and advising stakeholders in hydroelectric licensing proceedings under Part I of the Federal Power Act.

Mr. Zimmet was also the primary drafter of the Retail Electric Competition and Consumer Protection Act of 1999 which is Washington, DC’s electric retail access legislation.

Significant Matters

• Successfully represented a transmission-owning utility in the approval, by the FERC, of incentive rates for a multi-state transmission line being developed by that utility.
• Represented a vertically-integrated, transmission-owning, investor-owned utility before the FERC in tariff filing involving FERC approval of deviations from Order No. 890 pro forma OATT, including important clarifications of the scope of network service.
• Represented a coalition of transmission-owning, investor-owned utilities before the FERC in proceedings involving clarifications of network transmission service requirements under Order No. 890.
• Advised investor-owned, transmission-owning utilities on compliance with revised open access transmission rules under Order No. 890.
• Represented vertically-integrated, investor-owned utilities before the FERC in their successful efforts to retain full authority to sell electricity at market-based rates.
• Represented investor-owned utilities and power marketers in FERC-initiated investigations of alleged market manipulation.
• Represented investor-owned utilities and power marketers in litigation before the FERC and the Federal Courts involving the Western energy crisis of 2000-2001.