Traditional Utilities, IPPs & Merchants

Lauren helps clients get federal and state approvals for energy infrastructure and identify alternative revenue streams to hedge their risks in a changing utility environment. She is also assisting utilities in state proceedings addressing the “utility of the future.”

At the federal level, Lauren:

• Helps to attain permits from the full panoply of federal agencies including, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Land Management, the Forest Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Commerce and more; and
• Helps to achieve results faster. She co-led the Rapid Response Team for Transmission (RRTT) over nine federal agencies during her time at the Department of Energy. She knows where efficiencies can be gained, and knows many of the players who can help get things done.

At the state level, Lauren:

• Advances energy or water projects that require approvals from the state’s public utility commission or state siting board. These approvals may include a Certificate of Need or Necessity and/or an environmental approval over the siting of infrastructure; and
• Advises utilities on changing their business models in preparation for or in response to commission proceedings on the “utility of the future.”

For Transmission Developers, Lauren can:

• Provide strategic advice on identifying new opportunities and evaluating risks on projects under consideration;
• Utilize federal authorities to gain federal eminent domain;
• Lead all permitting processes from conception to commercial operations date; and
• Provide strategic advice on developing transmission in the service territories served by three of the federal Power Marketing Administrations: BPA, WAPA and SWPA.

Lauren has extensive experience and relationships to assist traditional utilities, IPPs and merchants:

• Lauren has assisted utilities in obtaining permits for hundreds of miles of extra-high-voltage transmission lines;
• As a Senior Advisor to the Secretary at the Department of Energy (2011-2013), Lauren led the DOE’s efforts to revamp the programs that provide federal eminent domain to third-parties for transmission development;
• Lauren was the DOE’s representative on the President’s Steering Committee on Federal Infrastructure Permitting and Review Process Improvement; and
• Also at the DOE, Lauren was tapped to coordinate the agency’s oversight of the Power Marketing Administrations.

Read more about Lauren.