J. Daniel Skees is an associate in Morgan Lewis's Energy Practice. Mr. Skees represents electric and gas utilities, as well as other industry participants, before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on a wide variety of matters. He has represented electric utilities in rate proceedings, tariff proceedings, regulatory enforcement matters, reliability standard compliance and enforcement matters, rulemaking proceedings, and proceedings related to the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005 and compliance with FERC's accounting regulations. Mr. Skees has represented gas industry participants in enforcement matters, rate proceedings, certificate proceedings, and National Environmental Policy Act matters related to gas infrastructure projects.
Mr. Skees's practice includes numerous representations of electric industry participants subject to compliance with mandatory electric reliability standards under section 215 of the Federal Power Act. As part of these representations, he advises clients on compliance with new and existing reliability standards and defends clients in enforcement proceedings related to alleged violations of reliability standards, including enforcement proceedings brought by FERC, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), and the Regional Entities charged with enforcing compliance under delegated authority from NERC. These representations span the course of the enforcement process from initial discovery and investigation through settlement. Where necessary, Mr. Skees represents clients in preparing a litigated defense against alleged violations of reliability standards.
Mr. Skees also advises clients on issues related to the development of national and regional reliability standards and works with clients to participate effectively in the development and approval proceedings for such reliability standards both in the initial stages of development and in rulemaking proceedings before FERC.
As part of these reliability representations, Mr. Skees advises clients on the unique compliance concerns presented by the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) reliability standards. Working alongside both business and technical leads within companies and a company's outside IT consultants, he has aided electric utilities in designing their CIP compliance programs and defending those CIP efforts when necessary by bridging the divide between a utility's IT environment and the enforceable cybersecurity framework that the CIP Standards impose.
In the course of these reliability standard representations, Mr. Skees has represented electric utilities in matters before NERC as well as the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC), SERC Reliability Corporation (SERC), ReliabilityFirst Corporation (RFC), the Northeast Power Coordinating Council (NPCC), the Midwest Reliability Organization (MRO), the Southwest Power Pool Regional Entity (SPPRE), the Texas Reliability Entity (TRE), and the Florida Reliability Coordinating Council (FRCC).
Mr. Skees received his J.D., magna cum laude, from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law in 2007. While in law school, he co-founded the Journal of Law, Philosophy & Culture and served as its managing editor. He also served as a staff editor on Catholic University Law Review. In June 2007, his article in the Catholic University Law Review received a Burton Award for Legal Achievement. Mr. Skees received his B.A., with high distinction, from Pennsylvania State University in 2000.
Mr. Skees is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Virginia and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
