The Smart Grid Legal News blog provides timely information and legal commentary on issues related to the smart grid, including activities at state regulatory commissions, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

The blog is edited by Linda R. Evers, Chair of the Energy, Communications and Public Utility Group and content is authored by Ms. Evers and members of the group.

Editor, Contributor

Linda R. Evers

With more than 16 years of experience as in-house counsel at major electric utilities, Linda R. Evers assists clients in achieving favorable results that are cost-effective and make a positive impact on their financial conditions. She represents public utilities and other companies in matters before governmental and regulatory agencies, including the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.

Prior to joining Stevens & Lee, Ms. Evers served as long-time in-house counsel for FirstEnergy Service Company, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corporation, the fifth largest investor-owned utility company in the nation. As FirstEnergy’s Pennsylvania regulatory lawyer, Ms. Evers served as lead attorney on regulatory matters concerning Metropolitan Edison (Met-Ed), Pennsylvania Electric Company (Penelec) and Pennsylvania Power Company, one of the first electric distribution companies to comply with the Commonwealth’s Alternative Energy Standards.

A consultant on smart grid issues, Linda has educated utilities nationally and internationally on smart meter privacy and health concerns, as well as overall smart grid cost recovery methods. As the editor of the blog Smart Grid Legal News (http://www.smartgridlegalnews.com/), Linda provides insight on regulatory smart grid cases on the state and federal levels. She was a participating member of the NIST Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP), a national working group which advises regulatory agencies on national smart grid standards, and is an active member of the Department of Energy (DOE) Smart Grid Customer Engagement Working Group. She also serves on the board of the Sustainable Energy Fund. In addition, Linda was an invited participant in the inaugural meeting of DOE’s Minorities in Energy Initiative, which links together representatives from community organizations, academia, business, and industry to address shared challenges in the areas of energy economic development, STEM education and climate change.

Ms. Evers is an active member of the Energy Bar Association and serves on its Demand-side Resources and Smart Grid Committee. Ms. Evers is an active member of the American Association of Blacks in Energy, the Energy Bar Association, the Forum of Executive Women and the National Bar Association, among other organizations. While in-house, she was active in Corporate Counsel Women of Color and the Energy Association of Pennsylvania and served on its Electric Regulatory Committee

Ms. Evers received a J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law (1991) and a B.S. from Northwestern University (1988). She is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Indiana.

 

Contributor

Michael A. Gruin focuses his practice on assisting energy, telecommunications and other utility companies with state regulatory and business planning matters. He represents competitive telecommunications carriers and electric distribution companies in a wide range of matters before the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, including consumer complaint matters, applications for and expansion of PUC certification, negotiation of telecommunications interconnection agreements, litigation of disputes between interconnected telecommunications companies, reciprocal compensation and USF issues, tariffing issues and PUC policy proceedings. Mr. Gruin received a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law (1996) and a B.S., with High Distinction, from Pennsylvania State University (1993).