JOSHUA ROKACH came to Balch & Bingham in 2001, after 27 years of federal service -- two with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Justice Department and 23 of them with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Mr. Rokach held a variety of posts at the Commission, including nine years in the Solicitor's Office (where he argued 60 cases in ten of the thirteen circuit courts of appeal) and adviser to two commissioners. Between 1988 and 1993, he worked as electric adviser to Commissioner Charles A. Trabandt and between 1997 and 2001, Mr. Rokach advised Commissioner and Chairman Curt L. Hebert. When advising Mr. Trabandt, Mr. Rokach was involved in the early Commission efforts at electricity restructuring and in the 1992 Energy Policy Act. As Commissioner Hebert's adviser, Mr. Rokach published and spoke extensively on Order No. 2000, the Regional Transmission Organization Rule, which he helped draft. Mr. Rokach was also instrumental in drafting the Commission's merger rule in 2000 and was in charge of implementing Order No. 2000 during Chairman Hebert's tenure. Mr. Rokach's practice focuses on energy and appellate litigation, in particular, in electricity.

Representative Experience

• Mr. Rokach represented Southern Company in the organizational meetings of the North American Energy Standards Board. These meetings developed the governing structure of the organization, which adopts industry practices in cooperation with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

  Mr. Rokach drafted comments submitted to the FERC on behalf of FirstEnergy Corp. with regard to the Standard Market Design Rulemaking, in which the FERC sought to impose market rules on the Nation.

  Mr. Rokach represented FirstEnergy Corp. in formation of the Midewest Independent System Operator energy markets by submitting comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on the ISO's Transmission and Energy Markets Tariffs and succeeded in modifying or clarifying the proposed standard market tariff regarding long-term resource adequacy requirements, power of market monitors, definition of actionable market behavior and financial transmission rights.

  He submitted comments to the FERC on behalf of FirstEnergy Corp. regarding the Commission's proposed transmission pricing policy statement.

  Mr. Rokach represented Nevada Power Company in successfully dismissing the company from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's show cause proceedings on Western market manipulation.

  He contributed to the briefs for Nevada Power Company in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Nevada Power Co. v. El Paso, et al. No. 05-15127 on filed rate doctrine's application to the deregulated gas industry and price indeces.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

• Energy Bar Association, Member, Program Committee
  
• American Bar Association, Member, Public Utility & Transportation Section and Antitrust Section
  
• District of Columbia Bar, Member
  

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