Natural Gas Utilities & Marketers

Stone & Baxter has represented members of the Georgia natural gas industry since the 1996 deregulation of Georgia’s natural gas industry.

Representation at the PSC

Our attorneys have extensive experience advocating on behalf of natural gas industry members in regulatory proceedings before the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC). Those proceedings range from the complex to the routine, including applications for marketer certificates, requests for approval of customer terms and conditions, triannual capacity supply plan proceedings, and proceeding to reconcile pipeline flow variances. The PSC proceedings regularly require a petition or an application to intervene; drafting or reviewing discovery responses; aiding clients in preparing pre-filed testimony; negotiating with other parties on the docket in attempts to reach a stipulation; and representing our clients at hearings in front of the PSC.

PSC Appeals

Our work on behalf of our natural gas clients also involves defending or prosecuting appeals from the Public Service Commission. Consequently, we have litigated and won regulatory appeals on behalf of our natural gas clients in front of the Superior Court of Fulton County, the Georgia Court of Appeals, and the Georgia Supreme Court. As a result of our extensive experience with natural gas regulatory law, we can effectively and effortlessly explain complex regulatory issues and argue a natural gas client’s position before the judiciary.

FERC Representation

Stone & Baxter also has extensive experience representing natural gas industry members before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and advising our clients on how incoming FERC regulatory decisions might impact their businesses.

Natural Gas Transactions

Beyond litigation, Stone & Baxter routinely assists its natural gas clients with their business and transaction work. Our deep transactional practice, generally, combined with our intimate familiarity with regulatory restrictions and opportunities often make Stone & Baxter a perfect fit for natural gas clients who have transactional needs. For a more detailed description of our transactional practice, click here.

Representative Experience

  • Represented a Georgia natural gas marketer in each of the previous five capacity supply plans filed by the electing distribution company, Atlanta Gas Light Company. In the latest plan proceeding (2016-2019), the PSC adopted our client’s position on the allocation of certain costs before the issue was ultimately settled prior to a motion for rehearing.
  • Intervened on behalf of a Georgia natural gas marketer in Southern Company’s and Atlanta Gas Light Company’s application for PSC approval of an $8 billion merger between the two companies. Ultimately, the application was approved with our client’s consent in exchange for numerous protective concessions agreed to by Southern Company and Atlanta Gas Light.

Practice Groups