Thomas R. Brill has deep legal and management experience in the energy industry and has represented clients in virtually every electricity and natural gas restructuring proceeding in California for over three decades. Tom also has comprehensive experience in regulatory litigation, as well as strategy and policy development to address rapidly changing laws, regulations, and market dynamics as well as technological disruptions that are leading to significant changes in the energy industry. Tom also has comprehensive experience addressing issues related to the integration of central station and distributed renewable generation, including electricity storage, smart grid technologies, and the impacts of utility rate design and cost allocation on competitive entry by third party providers and utility stranded cost exposure.
Before joining Greenberg Traurig, Tom served in in-house positions at Sempra Energy, San Diego Gas & Electric Company, Pacific Enterprises, the Southern California Gas Company, and the American Gas Association. In these roles, he served as lead counsel in proceedings to implement state policies and legislation to introduce competition and reduce emissions in California’s electricity and natural gas markets, developed legal, regulatory, legislative and public affairs strategies to address Community Choice Aggregation, Greenhouse Gas and carbon reduction initiatives, promote storage and smart grid investments, implement wholesale and retail market competition in the electricity and natural gas industries, address wildfire risk issues, and implement new utility rate designs to address emerging needs and new technologies in the energy industry.
He has served as legal counsel on a wide range of matters before for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), including proceedings to obtain regulatory approval of a significant merger between two utility holding companies, and lobbied before these organizations, as well as the California Legislature and the United States Congress.
Concentrations
- Greenhouse gas and emission reduction strategies
- Industry restructuring
- Climate action plans
- Distributed energy technologies/renewable generation
- Utility cost allocation and rate design
- CPUC and FERC merger approvals/market power analysis
