Overview
(August 24, 2023, Washington, DC) – Chris Zentz spoke to Law360 and The National Law Journal about his work in the energy sector and his decision to join Steptoe & Johnson.
Chris focuses on clients involved in the electricity sector, energy transition, and other related energy matters. He works with clients who appear before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and other regulators, including advising them on all aspects of FERC compliance, on interconnection and transmission matters, obtaining and retaining market-based rates, and advising them on obtaining authorizations under Section 203 of the Federal Power Act. Chris also works with renewable resource developers, and negotiates power, transmission and energy storage transactions.
Chris spoke to Law360 about what he enjoys about the work, noting the interesting interplay between the intersection of law, regulation, and the physics of how the power systems themselves work: "As much as we can contract, or try to implement the law, physics is really what's going to dictate how the power flows," he said. "It's an interesting dichotomy to me, between those two universes. I still continue to this day to find that interesting."
When speaking to The National Law Journal about the recent influx of work toward law firms’ energy practices, he said: “The IRA was like gasoline on a fire. The renewable space has been hot and active over the last decade, the IRA just amplified that and it made projects that were previously maybe on the fringe, economic. For example, pumped storage projects have the ability to potentially get up to 50% tax credit.”
Read about Chris’ move to Steptoe here: Bloomberg Law, Law360, and The National Law Journal. [subscription may be required]
