John E. Rooney

Overview

Public utilities constantly interact with state and federal regulators. John helps public utilities develop strategies to obtain regulatory approvals and leads litigation before regulatory commissions. He assists utilities with legislative proposals that may impact operations or the regulatory structures that govern them. John counsels on innovative alternative regulation proposals, competitive marketplace disputes, rate increase requests and rate design, acquisitions and merger approvals, service standards, and regulatory rules.

John began his career as a regulator, first as an Administrative Law Judge and later as Chief Administrative Law Judge at the Illinois Commerce Commission, the agency that regulates public utilities, including electric and gas utilities. He now counsels natural gas, electric, and water and sewer utilities, as well as large suppliers of electricity, gas and petroleum. John helps clients avoid regulatory pitfalls, developing successful solutions when problems do arise and providing support as industries and the regulatory environment in which they operate evolve.

Prior to Benesch, John played a key role in obtaining regulatory approval for a pilot program that incentivized renewable natural gas production facilities to locate within Nicor Gas Company’s service territory and provide this environmentally friendly fuel source to customers. He led a team that developed a strategy to present the idea as an alternative regulation plan and crafted the evidentiary presentation to support the proposal, marking it as the first of its kind in Illinois.