Events

Energy Law: Navigating Interjurisdictional Complexity 

NARUC Professional Development
Track: Legal

June 1, June 8, June 15, June 22, July 6, July 13, 2026 | Mondays, 3:30 - 5:00 PM ET (Live online)

Core Knowledge for Regulators, Staff and Practitioners

This course offers a detailed yet practical introduction to the core knowledge governing federal and state regulation of energy, including electricity and gas, as well as a comprehensive examination of the complex and dynamic legal framework governing federal and state energy regulation and authority in the United States. Designed for state regulators, their staff, and legal practitioners, the curriculum explores the foundational statutes, critical legal doctrines, and recent landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions that are reshaping the field and represent essential knowledge for anyone involved in the field. A central theme is the perennial division of authority between federal and state governments, focusing on its practical implications for energy policy and infrastructure projects.

Fees: 
NARUC State, Associate, and Federal Members: $450
Other State, Federal Government, and International Agencies / NASUCA Members / Academia: $650
All Others: $850

Register

Major Topics of the Course:

The Constitutional and Statutory Framework of Energy Regulation in the United States

  • Where does the power to regulate the energy sector come from?  A review of the constitutional sources of regulatory power at the federal and state levels.
  • Introduction to Federal Power Act, emphasis on Sections 201, 205 and 206, and Natural Gas Act, Sections 3 and 7.

Electricity:  Who Regulates What?

  • What do the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and other federal agencies regulate?
  • What do state utility commissions and other state agencies regulate?
  • Where are the borders between federal and state regulation?
  • Review of major applicable court cases.

Natural Gas:  Who Regulates What?

  • What do FERC and other federal agencies regulate?
  • What do state utility commissions and other state agencies regulate?
  • Where are the borders between federal and state regulation?
  • Review of major applicable court decisions

How Is Electrical Power Priced?   What Are the Constitutional Limits on both Federal and State Ratemaking Authority?

  • Cost-of-service ratemaking basic principles
  • RTO markets and pricing mechanisms
  • Applicability of Fifth Amendment Takings Clause, review of major applicable court cases, including Bluefield Water Works, Hope Natural Gas, and Duquesne Light

Major Recent Supreme Court Cases Governing Agency Decision Making

  • Environmental Reviews under NEPA, including Seven County
  • Coalition
  • Judicial deference to agency actions, including West Virginia v. EPA (Major Questions Doctrine) and Loper Bright v. Raimondo (Chevron deference R.I.P. – but what now?)

Instructor: Mark C. Christie, Former Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; Director, Center for Energy Law and Policy, William & Mary Law School. Former Chairman Mark Christie served as a FERC commissioner from January 2021 to August 2025, the final seven months as Chairman. In October 2025 he was appointed as the founding Director, Center for Energy Law and Policy, and Visiting Professor from Practice at the William & Mary Law School, where he teaches courses in energy law. Prior to serving on FERC, Christie was the Chairman of the Virginia State Corporation Commission (Virginia SCC), on which he served as a commissioner for nearly 17 years. He was elected to the Virginia SCC, which regulates utilities, insurance and banking, three times by the Virginia legislature on bipartisan votes.

Former Chairman Christie taught regulatory law for a decade as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Virginia School of Law and constitutional law and government for 20 years in a doctoral program at Virginia Commonwealth University. Christie received his law degree from Georgetown University and his undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University, where he graduated Magna cum Laude and earned Phi Beta Kappa honors. He served as an officer in the U. S. Marine Corps.