Practice Expertise

  • Energy & Natural Resources Law
  • Corporate Law
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Areas of Practice

  • Corporate Law
  • Energy & Natural Resources Law
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Profile

Nora Sheriff is a Shareholder in Buchalter’s San Francisco office and a member of the Firm’s Energy & Natural Resources Practice Group. With decades of experience in the energy industry, Ms. Sheriff focuses her practice on electric and natural gas regulatory and administrative litigation, legislative efforts, and end-use contractual transactions; she works to ensure clean energy tools are available for large end-use customer use to help mitigate the impacts of the high cost of California power on California manufacturing and avoid carbon emissions leakage by keeping manufacturing in California. Her clients include cement, steel, industrial gas, pipeline, mining, beverage, food packaging and cold storage industry corporations, oil and gas energy companies working to advance a lower carbon future, as well as wholesale demand response providers, scheduling coordinator/distributed energy resource aggregators, integration technology solutions providers and renewable energy systems developers. Ms. Sheriff represents large power customers and clean power stakeholders, informs, and helps shape California’s energy policy debates, and advocates for clean energy and large end-user ratepayer interests.

Ms. Sheriff also advises clients on clean energy and climate change aspects of the Inflation Reduction Act and its impact on transactions, regulatory ramifications and tax credit benefits, including ITC, PTC and the newly added credits for storage and other technologies.

Ms. Sheriff has also been recognized in the Best Lawyers in America, Energy Law and Natural Resources Law, for 2023 & 2024. Most recently, Ms. Sheriff received recognition from Chambers USA in 2023 as a leader in her field in the area of Energy, State Regulatory & Litigation (California).

Representative Matters

  • Represents large power users and standby customers in CPUC-jurisdictional utility general rate cases and rate design window applications, focusing on marginal cost, revenue allocation and rate design issues.
  • Advocates for large customer and participant interests in CPUC demand response proceedings and the implementation of integration of demand response into wholesale markets.
  • Builds and leads multiparty collaborations among diverse stakeholders in administrative litigation and settlement contexts, achieving successful outcomes for her clients in both the Diablo Canyon and SONGS proceedings.
  • Engages in targeted California ISO stakeholder processes on behalf of large customer interests, maintaining positive working relationships with key participants.
  • Promotes large power end-use interests in CPUC integrated resource planning and resource adequacy proceedings.
  • Counsels clients on potential impacts of CPUC policies regarding renewables, demand response and energy efficiency.
  • Advocates for balanced reform to departing load charges in support of retail choice.
  • Advises clients on Self Generation Incentive Process and distributed generation issues.
  • Advocates for lawful and practicable confidentiality policy and practices at the CPUC and the CEC.
  • Negotiates end-use power contracts and departing load matters.
  • Assists clients with renewable resource contracting matters with state agencies.
  • Advises clients on contracting with local agencies for provision of technology solutions for integration of renewable resources.
  • Advocates for rational allocation of natural gas costs, such as gas Public Purpose Program surcharges and Pipeline Safety Enhancement Program costs.
  • Assists customer generation facilities to navigate the interconnection process.
  • Litigates Qualifying Facility issues, including avoided cost pricing and contract policy issues.
  • Counsels clients regarding CEC jurisdiction and siting process.

Events

  • Panelist, Remote Practice and Participation at the CPUC: Practice, Tips, Trends, and What’s Next, CCPUC Annual Meeting, Santa Cruz, CA (May 2, 2022)
  • Moderator, Lunch Hour Chat with Commissioner Darcie Houck, CCPUC Lunchtime Webinar, (May 11, 2021)
  • Moderator, Optimizing DER Portfolios and Electrifying Transportation to Meet Climate Goals and Enhance Grid Reliability, Safety and Security Panel, at Global Climate Action Summit Affiliate Event “Distributed Energy Resources: A Clean Energy Pathway to Mitigating Climate Change”, San Francisco, CA (Sept. 12, 2018)
  • Panelist, CMTA Energy Roundtable, Sacramento, CA (June 21, 2018)
  • Panelist, Customer Choice and the Future of Energy Panel; Women in Energy Women EmPowered Conference, Sacramento, CA (Dec. 12, 2017)
  • Panelist, What Customers Want, California Public Utilities Commission and California Energy Commission Joint En Banc on Changing Nature of Consumer and Retail Choice in California, Sacramento, CA (May 19, 2017)
  • Panelist, Roundtable Discussion on Governance Documents, California Energy Commission Lead Commissioner Workshop on Regional Grid Operator and Governance, Sacramento, CA (Oct. 16, 2016)
  • Panelist, Retail Rate Revisions – Impacts on the California Energy Market, Infocast California Energy Summit 2015 SF, CA (May 12, 2015)
  • Panelist, Procuring Preferred Resources in California – Impacts on Renewable Energy, Demand Response, and Other Projects, Infocast California Energy Summit 2015 SF, CA (May 12, 2015)
  • Panelist, Retail Rate Revisions – Impacts on the California Energy Market, Infocast California Energy Summit 2014 SF, CA (May 29, 2014)
  • Panelist, Customer Perspectives on the California Energy Market, InfoCast California Energy Summit 2013, SF, CA (Dec. 4, 2013)

Bar Admissions

  • California

Education

  • University of California, Hastings College of the Law
  • George Washington University
  • California State University, Sacramento

Areas of Practice

  • Corporate Law
  • Energy & Natural Resources Law

Professional Career



Articles

  • PG&E and SCE’s Wildfire Mitigation Plans Detail More than $23 billion in Expenditures through 2025
  • Utilities Request that the CPUC Incorporate the Inflation Reduction Act Tax Credit Changes into the Net Energy Metering Proceeding
  • Inflation Reduction Act Incentives for Energy Sector
  • CARB Releases Draft 2022 Scoping Plan Update

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