Kirk D. Rasmussen

Kirk represents a variety of private and public clients, including those before:

• The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT)
• The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)
• The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC)
• The Texas Reliability Entity (TRE)
• The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
• The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI)
• The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC)
• The Texas Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner (OCCC)
• The Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH)
• The Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC)
• Other federal and state regulatory bodies

Electric Generation & Utility Experience

• Represent clients in the sale, transfer, and merger of electric generation and utility assets
• Negotiate power purchase agreements
• Represent clients in all aspects of utility ratemaking proceedings
• Represent clients in certificate of convenience and necessity (CCN) proceedings involving high-voltage transmission lines
• Advise clients regarding compliance with agency regulations
• Advise clients regarding development of alternative energy projects, including solar energy, biofuel, wind power, and energy storage projects
• Advise clients regarding the development and implementation of smart-grid facilities
• Advise clients regarding participation in ERCOT, including counseling regarding application and revision of the ERCOT Protocols and Operating Guides
• Advise clients regarding registration and participation in NERC and compliance with NERC Reliability Standards
• Advise clients regarding state and federal regulatory implications of energy transactions, including structuring issues
• Advise clients regarding energy and utility legislation pending before the U.S. Congress, Texas Legislature, and other state legislative bodies
• Advise clients on utility tariff issues, interconnections and contributions in aid of construction (CIAC)
• Represent clients in all aspects of administrative and regulatory proceedings, rulemakings, complaint actions, and licensing
• Represent utility clients in Texas state court administrative appeals
• Draft and negotiate generation interconnections and associated agreements and consents between electric generators, transmission service providers, and financial institutions
• Draft and negotiate all manner of agreements for energy clients, including affiliate agreements
• Represented largest generator of electricity, largest investor-owned and public transmission and distribution utilities, and largest retail electric providers in Texas
• Represented municipally owned utilities, retail electric providers, oil and gas exploration and production companies, public and private universities, and entities acquiring energy services
• Represented developer of on-site energy generation and management systems
• Represented the U.S. Department of Energy in connection with the licensing of its Yucca Mountain Project (geologic nuclear waste repository) by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Represented largest independently owned title company and the one of the largest credit services organization and credit access business in Texas

• Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Ranked for Energy: State Regulatory & Litigation (Electricity) – Texas, 2018-2023
• The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White Inc.), Administrative / Regulatory Law, 2021-2023
• Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters, Administrative Law, 2017-2019
• Top Lawyers, Texas Monthly, 2018
• Texas Rising Star, Texas Monthly, 2010
• Board Certified in Administrative Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, 2010

Publications

• Co-author, “Being an Effective Advocate,” Currents by POWER Engineers, 2022
• Co-author, “How to Avoid Accidentally Becoming a Regulated Electric Utility in Texas,” Texas Real Estate Business, 2006
• Co-author, “Who Will Play Poker in the Texas Saloon if the Sheriff Makes Everyone Play With Their Cards Face Up? The Importance of Protecting Competitively Sensitive Information in the Restructured Texas Electric Market” Texas Tech University School of Law Administrative Law Journal, 2004

Speeches

• Co-Presenter, “Navigating the Challenges of Transmission Development,” Institute for Energy Law’s 2nd Conference on Renewable Project Development, 2023
• Presenter, FERC and NERC Regulation in Texas, Texas Utility Lawyer Association Annual Meeting, 2011
• Presenter, Witness Skills, Burns & McDonnell Transmission Line Routing Seminar, 2011
• Presenter, ERCOT February 2011 Extreme Cold Weather Event: Counsel to a Generator’s Perspective, 4th Annual Power and Alternative Energy Law Conference, 2011
• Presenter, Regulatory Hurdles to Achieving a Smart Grid, 2nd Annual IEEE Green Technologies Conference, 2010
• Presenter, Regulatory Obstacles to Achieving a Smart Grid, Smart Grid America Forum, 2009

• State Bar of Texas
  • Environmental & Natural Resources Section
  • Public Utility Law Section
• Austin Bar Association, Administrative Law Section
• Dallas Bar Association
• American Bar Association
  • Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice Section
  • Environment, Energy, & Resources Section
  • Infrastructure & Regulated Industries Section
• Boy Scouts of America
  • Eagle Scout
  • Friends of Scouting Campaign, White Buffalo District, Circle 10 Council Chairman, 2005–2006