Dena E. Wiggins

Dena E. Wiggins has more than 20 years of experience representing energy clients in regulatory, legislative, transactional, and litigation matters. Ms. Wiggins focuses on representing clients in federal regulatory matters involving natural gas transportation and storage, crude oil, petroleum products, and hydropower.

Ms. Wiggins has participated in numerous natural gas and oil pipeline rate proceedings and in rulemakings affecting the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) regulation of those commodities. Her experience involves virtually every significant rulemaking effort over the past 20 years, including the restructuring of the natural gas industry through Order Nos. 436, 636, and 637 and the first fully litigated pipeline case after the enactment of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. She provides regulatory and transactional advice regarding natural gas storage and contracts, including precedent agreements and rate and tariff advice. She also advises clients on FERC enforcement and compliance.

Ms. Wiggins' legislative and policy experience results in providing distinctive insights for clients in the energy industry. She has been involved in many high-profile legislative matters, including the passage of the Energy Policy Acts of 1992 and 2005, the defeat of the BTU tax, the decontrol of wellhead prices of natural gas, and the repeal of the Fuel Use Act, as well as efforts to increase energy exploration and production. Currently, she is engaged in legislative efforts to amend Section 5 of the Natural Gas Act.

Ms. Wiggins represents clients on energy policy issues, liquefied natural gas (LNG) matters, and incentives for natural gas production. She has advised clients on foreign acquisitions reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. She has also advised foreign timber and uranium clients in legislative matters before the U.S. Congress.

Ms. Wiggins has represented clients in appellate matters before several courts of appeal. She serves as general counsel for a trade association of large industrial consumers of natural gas and represents the association on various natural gas policy and regulatory matters.

Representative Matters

Regulatory, Compliance, and Enforcement

• Represents industrial end users, cooperatives, producers, and commodity traders before FERC and in a variety of transactional matters; testifies at FERC hearings on behalf of industrial end users
• Advises clients on regulation impacting oil pipelines
• Represents industrial end users, cooperatives, producers, and commodity traders in enforcement proceedings before FERC
• Advises on FERC rules and regulations and leads efforts to appeal FERC decisions and rulemakings
• Represented a major foreign utility in arbitration proceedings involving international contract disputes and in proceedings before FERC
• Played a significant role in the first fully litigated oil pipeline case after the enactment of the Energy Policy Act of 1992
• Represented foreign timber and uranium clients in legislative matters before the U.S. Congress; successfully opposed taxes on imports of soft wood lumber
• Opposed BTU tax proposal successfully

Legislative 

• Represents a client on the Natural Gas Council, a coalition of major gas and electric trade associations
• Represented a major producer in successful legislative efforts to oppose reform of outer continental shelf (OCS) leases
• Led an industrial demand group for the National Petroleum Council in conducting a study of natural gas supply and demand prepared at the request of the Secretary of Energy

Transactional

• Advises clients on the structure of natural gas supply and developing transportation and storage contracts
• Advises clients on participating in open seasons for storage and pipeline capacity and draft precedent agreements

Litigation

• Represents producers and end users in appellate cases that oppose efforts to lift rate cap on primary pipeline capacity
• Represented producers in appellate matter relating to controversy over FERC's ability to regulate gathering pipeline

Professional Activities

American Bar Association
Section of Environment, Energy and Natural Resources
Section of Public Utility, Communications and Transportation; member, Counsel Group; past Chair, Program Committee; Vice Chair, Oil Pipeline Committee

British American Business Association, Energy Committee

National Petroleum Council, Industrial Working Group, past Chair

Natural gas counsel for the Process Gas Consumers Group, the Independent Petroleum Association of America, and American Forest & Paper Association

Recognition & Accomplishments

Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, energy: oil & gas (regulatory and litigation), national ranking, 2010-2012

The Best Lawyers in America, energy law, natural resources law, 2006-2013

Named a Top Utility Lawyer for Natural Gas Policy and Regulation, by Public Utilities Fortnightly, 2011

Publications

"Commerce Dept. Issues Final Determination Regarding Tariffs on Chinese PV Cells," AltEnergyMag.com, October 31, 2012

Co-author, "Race To Monetize Shale Gas Assets," Oil & Gas Financial Journal, September 1, 2012

Co-author, "Commerce Department Preliminarily Imposes Anti-Dumping Tariffs on Chinese Photovoltaic Cells," Ballard Spahr Energy and Project Finance Alert, May 18, 2012

Co-author, "U.S. International Trade Commission Unanimously Votes To Continue China Solar PV Trade Cases," Ballard Spahr Energy and Project Finance Alert, December 2, 2011

Co-author, "Membership Organization Standing In FERC Proceedings," Energy Law360, June 16, 2011

Co-author, "The Compliance Risk Equation: Preparing for the 'New' FERC," Natural Gas and Electricity, July 2010

Author, "The Shifting Sands of U.S. Legislative and Regulatory Policy: Implications for Natural Gas Supplies from Foreign Sources," Energy Forum, International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE), first quarter 2006

Contributing author, Electricity & Natural Gas Business: Understanding It! 2003 and Beyond, Atlas Books, 2003

Speaking Engagements

Regularly speaks on natural gas policy and has testified before FERC on natural gas policy matters

"Interstate Pipeline Section 5 Rate Filings & Reform: Impact & Trends," US Energy's 24th Annual Energy Confernece, Phoenix, May 10-11, 2012

Interviewed by AOL Energy on natural gas issues, October 20, 2011

Panelist, "Rate Implications of a Changing Gas Supply Picture," AGA Energy Market Regulation Conference, Fort Worth, September 22, 2011

Presenter, Gas Purchasers Luncheon & Meeting, GasMart 2011, Chicago, May 12, 2011

Moderator, panel on "Global Financial Crisis and U.S. Regulatory Reform," Independent Petroleum Association of America, 2010 Midyear Meeting, June 18, 2010

"A FERC Update," Process Gas Consumers Group, Gas Purchasers Luncheon & Meeting, GasMart 2010, Chicago, May 12, 2010

Moderator, panel on "Regulatory Implications of Climate Change: Principal Government Agencies Affected," American Bar Association Section of Public Utility, Communications and Transportation, annual conference, March 15, 2010

"Transparency in the Natural Gas Markets," American Gas Association, 2009 FERC Compliance Conference, October 23, 2009

Speaker and moderator, Gas Purchasers Luncheon & Meeting, GasMart 2009, Washington, D.C., May 21, 2009

Moderator, "Foreign Investment in Energy in the U.K. and U.S.: Lessons Learned and a Look Ahead," British American Business Association, Washington, D.C., May 1, 2009

Moderator, "Demand Side Issues Facing Gas Purchasers," GasMart 2008, Chicago, May 20-22, 2008

"The Latest Federal Policy and Regulatory Developments Impacting Industrial End-Users of Natural Gas," Process Gas Consumers Group (PGC) Annual Summer Meeting, Augusta, Georgia, June 19-20, 2007

Speaker and panelist, "Exchanging Insights into Stumbling Blocks, WBA Initiative On Advancement and Retention," Association of Intellectual Property Lawyers Association (AIPLA), Chicago, February 14, 2006

"Interchangeability: Problem Solved," webinar, Oil & Gas Journal, October 31, 2006

Speaker, 25th Annual North American Conference of the USAEE/IAEE, September 2005

Speaker, General Session of the 76th Midyear Meeting, Independent Petroleum Association of America, San Francisco, June 15, 2003

Board Memberships

Energy Bar Association, past Board Member and Co-chair of Program Committee

Georgetown University Law Center (J.D.)

University of Richmond (B.A., magna cum laude)

District of Columbia

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit