Overview
Jennifer Key is an experienced first-chair lawyer who provides major electric utilities with advice and guidance on the complexities of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulation, and ensures that FERC regulations are adopted and implemented in a manner that is fair and reasonable. Her acute understanding of the intersection of state and federal jurisdiction enables her to successfully shepherd clients through the process of challenging both states and the FERC as necessary, where jurisdictional boundaries are crossed. Jennifer advises her clients in administrative litigation, transactional matters, and compliance matters, particularly with regard to transmission, interconnection, the Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), wholesale distribution, and FERC filing requirements. She also provides antitrust counseling to utilities.
As a complement to her practice, Jennifer shares her knowledge and talents in furtherance of the industry, serving as both an author of and contributor to the Annual Electricity Report for the Public Utility, Transportation, and Communications Law Section of the American Bar Association. She also is on the Electricity Committee of the Energy Bar Association.
- District of Columbia
- US Court of Appeals, District of Columbia
- J.D., The George Washington University Law School, 1991, with honors, Member, George Washington Journal of International Law and Economics
- B.A., Dartmouth College, 1986, cum laude
Representative Matters
- Providing legal advice to utilities on whether aspects of state efforts to reform their approach to the regulation of distribution acknowledge and respect federal jurisdiction, in order to ensure utilities eliminate risks of non-compliance with FERC regulation.
- Dealing with challenges surrounding the implementation of FERC’s Order No. 1000 raised in regional planning stakeholder processes.
- Responding to and asserting challenges with regards to whether state-adopted programs are PURPA-compliant.
- Drafting comments and attending technical conferences to ensure FERC’s Data Collection Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) does not place undue burdens on utilities and that any Final Rule reflects reasoned decision-making.
- Identifying issues relating to the aggregation of distributed resources and storage for participation in wholesale markets on behalf of utility clients.
- Represented a utility facing a Department of Justice investigation into alleged monopolization. The investigation has not resulted in any action being taken against utility.
- Addressing compliance issues with FERC filing and Electric Quarterly Report requirements.
Speaking Engagements
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"FERC versus State Jurisdiction: Drawing Lines is Serious Fun," Southern California Edison Company, May 6, 2016
News & Publications
Client Alerts
Summary of Coal and State Action Executive Orders
April 14, 2025
By: Daniel A. Mullen, Jennifer L. Key, William M. Keyser, Alex Kaung Myat Ahkar
PURPA & Distributed Energy Resources Blog
Reform Needed to Combat the Potential for Fraud Created by Order No. 2222
February 3, 2025
By: Jennifer L. Key
Noteworthy
- Chambers USA, Energy: Electricity – Regulatory & Litigation, Nationwide (2020-2025)
- Chambers Global, Energy: Electricity – Regulatory & Litigation (2024-2025)
- Lawdragon, 500 Leading Energy Lawyers (2025)
- Legal 500 US, Energy: Litigation (2017-2019)
- Legal 500 US, Energy: Regulatory (2016-2017)
Professional Affiliations
- Energy Bar Association