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Melinda represents electric utility clients and natural gas pipelines in matters before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). With a diverse legal experience, Melinda advises clients regarding a variety of regulatory, litigation, and transactional matters. Her background prior to Wright & Talisman includes serving as a trial attorney in FERC’s Office of Administrative Litigation with a focus on contested rate filings and complaint proceedings arising under the Federal Power Act and Natural Gas Act (NGA) with an emphasis on renewable energy reactive power filings and regulated electric utilities. During her time at FERC, Melinda gained valuable experience serving as counsel in trial-type hearings before Administrative Law Judges, negotiating settlements, and managing various stages of litigation from discovery to briefing.
Before shifting her focus to the energy sector, Melinda’s extensive career included litigating in the legal services space and teaching as an adjunct professor at American University Washington College of Law and Georgetown University Law Center.
Representing a natural gas pipeline in an NGA section 7 certificate proceeding in support of requests to lift the stay of the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity of the pipeline’s expansion project.
Representing transmission owners in a rulemaking proceeding establishing incentive-based rate treatment for voluntary cybersecurity investments by public utilities.
Representing a regional transmission organization (RTO) in settlement negotiations and informal discovery concerning a proposal to place transmission facilities and the associated annual transmission revenue requirement into certain pricing zones for rate recovery.
Defending an RTO in a complaint proceeding alleging tariff violations related to its effective load carrying capability methodology and accreditation process for intermittent/variable resources.
Supervising the relationship between a generator and its liquified natural gas (LNG) supply to ensure that ratepayers are accurately charged for fuel supply during the required generator run time
Counseling an RTO on existing carbon market pricing schemes throughout the country and in order to assist developing policies to integrate carbon markets within its footprint.
Counseling RTOs on ways to increase interregional generation and transmission capacity in order to meet reliability needs.
District of Columbia
New York
Georgetown University Law Center, LL.M. (2015)
City University of New York School of Law, J.D. (2012)
The George Washington University, B.A. in Political Communication, cum laude (2005)
Energy Bar Association
Women's Energy Network
District of Columbia Bar (2022) (Member, Committee on Admissions)
Gifts for the Homeless (2016-2022) (Member, Board of Directors)
