Education
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George Washington University Law School, J.D., with honors, 1988
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St. Cloud State University, B.A., summa cum laude, 1985
Bar Admissions
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District of Columbia
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Maryland
Court Admissions
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U.S. Supreme Court
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U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
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U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
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U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
Awards and Honors
- Recognized, Washington Super Lawyers, 2008
- Rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell
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Debbie Swanstrom’s broad range of transactional, regulatory and litigation skills enable her to serve clients cost-effectively throughout the course of an energy project—from inception of a creative idea for a transaction, during negotiations and the regulatory approval process, and in subsequent litigation, if necessary.
Ms. Swanstrom guides clients through the jurisdictional maze of federal and state regulation and advises them on strategies to achieve increased revenues or energy cost savings while minimizing regulatory burdens. She negotiates project development, supply, electric transmission, and gas transportation contracts; counsels clients on Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulations; conducts compliance training and internal audits or investigations; and litigates disputes before FERC, state commissions, and courts.
Ms. Swanstrom is skilled in FERC’s policies and regulations regarding open access transmission, the siting of new transmission facilities, generation interconnections, standards of conduct, regional transmission organizations, reliability, asset acquisitions and divestitures, contract and tariff complaints, anti-market manipulation rules, and reporting requirements. She helps clients proactively shape regulatory policies both before FERC and in the press, builds coalitions, and advocates their interests in rule making proceedings.
Ms. Swanstrom has more than 19 years of experience representing clients from diverse segments of the electric and natural gas industries, resulting in a well-rounded perspective of strategic issues facing participants in those evolving markets. She has represented government and investor-owned electric utilities; investors in generation, transmission, and distribution projects; industrial electricity consumers; state and local regulators; gas pipelines; producers; marketers; and local distribution companies.
Representative Matters:
- Provided compliance training on FERC anti-market manipulation and standards of conduct rules to numerous clients to successfully prevent regulatory problems before they occur.
- Successfully advocated interests of coalition of government and investor-owned utilities on transmission policy issues in major open access transmission and standards of conduct rulemaking proceedings at FERC.
- Achieved FERC approval of sale of transmission assets, along with major power plant, for buyer without regulatory conditions or extensive market power analysis.
- Achieved FERC approval of ground-breaking open access transmission reciprocity tariff and standards of conduct filed voluntarily by non-jurisdictional electric utility at FERC.
- Won FERC appeal reversing North American Reliability Corporation decision that too broadly applied reliability standards to retail power marketer.
- Successfully resolved, without litigation, complaint phoned into FERC Enforcement Hotline regarding transmission service priorities.
- Won litigation at FERC against power marketer seeking an electric contract termination payment from buyer in excess of $100 million and persuaded Administrative Law Judge to recommend disgorgement of $1.6 billion in unjust profits.
- Achieved favorable ruling from FERC Administrative Law Judge recommending approximately $21 million refund for energy purchased by electric utility.
- Achieved favorable dismissal of unsupported allegations of electric market manipulation on behalf of electric utility.
- Successfully negotiated reduction in gas transportation rates, providing approximately $3.8 million in savings, and obtained right to terminate contract early for purposes of switching suppliers.
- Successfully negotiated innovative electricity supply, lease and management agreements on behalf of corporation providing financing for construction of new co-generation facilities on college campus.
- Performed comprehensive analysis of application of antitrust laws to electric industry.
- Retained as expert witness in contract dispute involving gas imbalance penalties that settled successfully.
Professional Affiliations:
Chair, Women in Power® Forum (2004-Present)
Chair, Legislative Issues Committee of Women's International Network of Utility Professionals (formerly, Electrical Women’s Roundtable) (1996-2005)
Electric Utility Regulation and Finance & Transactions Committees of Energy Bar Association (2003-2005)
Chair, Natural Gas Regulation Committee of Energy Bar Association (2002-2003)
Women’s Council on Energy and the Environment (1992-2005)
Environment, Energy and Resources Section of American Bar Association (1989-2005)
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