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EkinSenlet

She | Her | Hers

Partner

"I enjoy working with my energy and telecommunications clients while they navigate the maze of regulatory requirements in New York State."

Overview

Biography

Ekin has been practicing energy and regulatory law for over a decade. She serves as Barclay Damon’s Regulatory Practice Area co-chair and primarily concentrates her practice on regulatory issues, including infrastructure-siting matters (through the Public Service Law (PSL) Article VII and Article 10 proceedings), environmental permitting, major electric- and gas-rate cases, management and operations audit matters, regulatory compliance, and other utility and generator-facility related proceedings. She routinely represents clients in administrative proceedings and evidentiary hearings before the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC), the Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment, and the New York Independent System Operator. Ekin helps domestic and international developers navigate the environmental review and siting processes required for offshore and onshore wind, solar, hydropower, energy storage, and biomass and other complex development projects. She also routinely assists clients in the new accelerated siting process before the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES). The independent research company Chambers & Partners highlights Ekin for her handling of “large transmission line and renewable energy projects.”

As part of her practice, Ekin closely monitors and advises clients on Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) and other clean energy standard proceedings that have grown out of the REV initiative over the years, including energy storage, community solar, value of distributed energy resources, and electric vehicle proceedings as well as the procurements, grants, and other incentives provided by NYSERDA, including the offshore wind solicitations for ORECs, Tier 1 and Tier 2 renewable energy credits, and NYSERDA’s incentive programs for renewable energy development, including the NY-SUN program.

Ekin additionally works closely with energy service companies (ESCOs) participating in the electric and gas retail marketplace in New York. She provides legal counsel on issues related to ESCO licensing, marketing practices, and regulatory compliance with the requirements established by the PSC, including the New York Uniform Business Practices (UBP) and relevant PSC orders.

As part of the Regulatory Practice Area, Ekin also represents cable and telecommunication companies before the PSC and assists major cable and telecom clients with their merger dockets, management and operations audit matters, and regulatory compliance.

Bar Associations

  • New York State Bar Association, Environmental and Energy Law Section—Utility Regulation, Co-Chair
  • Energy Bar Association

Selected Memberships & Affiliations

  • Alliance for Clean Energy New York
  • American Wind Energy Association
  • Women’s Energy Network, Greater Albany Chapter (WEN), Past President and Board Member
  • Solar Energy Industries Association
  • Women in Communications and Energy (WICE)
  • Institute for Energy Law
  • Barclay Damon’s Women’s Forum
  • Business Network for Offshore Wind
Experience

Representative Experience

  • Lead PSL Article VII counsel to Equinor Wind US on the state permitting of the 816-megawatt Empire Wind offshore wind farm to be connected to the New York’s electrical grid in Brooklyn, New York.
  • Successfully represented the New York Power Authority, the nation’s largest state power organization, before the PSC for an Article VII application for approval of the replacement and upgrade of NYPA’s 86-mile Moses-to-Adirondack transmission lines.
  • Jointly represent LS Power Grid NY and NYPA in seeking multiple approvals (Article VII, PSL Section 68, Section 69, and Section 70) from the PSC in connection with the rebuild of 93-mile transmission lines from the Marcy substation to the New Scotland substation. 
  • Co-chair of the team that successfully represented and obtained an Article VII certificate for Transmission Developers, Inc., in connection with the Champlain-Hudson Power Express Project, a 1,000 MW HVDC transmission line running from New York’s border with Canada to New York City.
  • Successfully represented Invenergy before the Siting Board in obtaining the approvals needed under PSL Article 10 for the construction and siting of the 340 MW Alle-Catt wind farm in Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Wyoming counties and for the 290 MW Canisteo wind farm in Steuben County.
  • Appears on behalf of Charter Communications, Inc., and Altice USA before the PSC in relation to the merger dockets, storm response, management and operations audit, COVID-19 proceedings, and FOIL and FOIA requests as well as general regulatory compliance for cable and telecom providers.
  • Represented a major energy company in litigation involving preemption under the Federal Power Act.
  • Assisted with siting approval from the PSC for a new gas pipeline serving the Greenidge Generating Station in Dresden, New York, as well as lightened regulation for both the pipeline and the Greenidge Station.
  • Represents an energy company in obtaining siting approval under PSL Article 10 for the repowering of an existing major electric-generating facility using renewable natural gas and green hydrogen as the main fuel source.
  • Represents a major New York and Massachusetts utility in connection with its electric- and gas-rate cases as well as management and operations audit matters before the PSC, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, and the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission. Provides discovery support to various utility clients.
  • Regularly represents clients regarding the governance processes and markets overseen by NYISO, including the interconnection processes for connecting facilities to New York State’s electrical grid and the competitive wholesale electric markets it administers.
  • Represented the Retail Energy Supply Association, a nationwide trade organization of ESCOs, in the PSC ESCO proceedings and continues to represent individual ESCOs on regulatory issues affecting the retail gas and electric markets, including compliance with the UBPs, cybersecurity, responses to customer complaints, and marketing and billing matters.
  • Regularly represents energy clients in PSC proceedings under Sections 68 and 70 of the Public Service Law as well as lightened regulation of wholesale generators and upstream corporate transfers.
  • Successfully secured necessary municipal and state permits for an international telecommunications company in connection with the construction of new telecommunication towers in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Vermont.
  • Co-chaired a real-property-tax litigation matter for a large electric-generator client in New York State.
  • Assisted a major energy company in all aspects of property tax issues, property tax liability analysis, trial, and appeals in New York and Maryland.
  • Representing the New York Power Authority with respect to the siting and construction of a rebuild of an 86-mile-long transmission line that traverses 15 municipalities. Barclay Damon attorneys prepared and finalized the Article VII Application, assisted the NYPA with supplementing filings to achieve a “complete” application, handled the discovery phase, and led months of settlement conferences. The settlement negotiations culminated in a joint proposal for settlement support by all of the active parties and state agencies. A CECPN was issued by the PSC without the need for an evidentiary hearing. We then assisted the NYPA in the preparation of the Environmental Management and Construction Plans (EM&CP) for the project, which were also approved by the PSC. Construction is currently ongoing for this project. We continue to support the NYPA with compliance issues during construction.
  • Representing the New York Power Authority (NYPA) on rebuilding a major 100-mile transmission line (known as the Smart Path Connect Project) designated by the Public Service Commission (PSC) as a “priority transmission project.” In partnership with National Grid as a co-applicant, we represented NYPA in preparing and filing the Article VII application for the project and participated in months of settlement negotiations with various state agencies and stakeholders, which resulted in a joint settlement. Construction on the project commenced in October 2022. Our attorneys continue to work on various compliance studies and filings for this priority transmission project.

Prior Experience

  • Hiscock & Barclay, LLP, Associate
  • City of Syracuse, Office of the Corporation Counsel, Legal Clerk
  • Representation of the European Commission to Turkey, Intern
  • Procter & Gamble, Istanbul, Turkey, Marketing Associate

Selected Community Activities

  • Legal Project of Albany, Volunteer Attorney

Selected Honors

  • Chambers USA, New York State: Energy: State Regulatory & Wholesale Electric Market, 2021–2024
  • Albany Business Review, 40 Under 40, 2021
  • Institute for Energy Law, Energy Law Leadership Class, 2020
  • Albany Business Review, Woman on the Rise Award, 2018
  • Leadership Tech Valley, Class of 2013
Knowledge

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • The Business Network for Offshore Wind (IPF) Workshop, "A Backbone Isn't a Wishbone: Regional Approaches to Unlocking Transmission Constraints"
  • American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education and Environmental Law Institute Environmental Law 2023 Program, "Energy Law Developments for Environmental Lawyers – Challenges and Obstacles in Shifting to Renewable Energy Resources"
  • The Business Network for Offshore Wind (IPF) Workshop, "Regulatory Pitfalls of Planning for Offshore Windfarm Projects"
  • Global Transmission Report Offshore Wind Transmission Conference, "Transmission in New York"
  • The Business Council of New York State, Inc. Renewable Energy Conference, "Offshore Wind Panel"

Selected Media

Selected Alerts & Blog Posts

Featured Media

Alerts

Website Accessibility Lawsuits: Several "Tester" Plaintiffs—Zayzay Howard, Carlos Gonzalez, Waleska Pena, Luis Compres, Carlos Moreno, Nersi Nin Vasquez, and Shivan Bassaw—Targeting Businesses in Recent Flurry of Lawsuits

Alerts

NYS Court of Appeals: No Municipal Immunity for a Town Employee Involved in an Accident but Not Engaged in Work

Alerts

Massachusetts Passes Climate Bill Accelerating Siting and Permitting for Clean Energy Projects

Alerts

Make It a Double: Amendment to New York State's ABC Law Extends Temporary Permits to Sell Alcoholic Beverages for Liquor License Applicants from 90 to 180 Days

Alerts

New York's New Pharmacy Regulations: Major Win for Independent Pharmacies and Consumers

Alerts

Second Circuit Upholds New York State's Ivory Law, but Holds Display Restriction Unconstitutional

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