Managing Attorney, FERC

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a leading energy provider and Fortune 500 company, dedicated to serving millions of electricity and natural gas customers across eight states: Minnesota, Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Mexico and Texas. We make energy work better for our customers, helping them thrive every day. That means always raising the bar

• delivering better service and providing more reliable, resilient, and sustainable energy. Xcel Energy is a place where you’ll have opportunities to grow, expand your skills, and help lead the clean energy transition. We offer meaningful rewards, recognition, and support to help you build your career and make an impact
• both on the job and beyond. Most importantly, it means you’ll be joining a company that knows employees are the driving force behind its success and is committed to helping you be your best. Xcel Energy supports a hybrid work model to enable collaboration and flexibility. Many roles are expected to work onsite three days per week (Tuesday–Thursday); however, work location expectations vary based on role, team, and business needs. Position Summary Manage attorneys and legal assistants in a designated functional legal area, with accountability for legal strategy, risk management, business partnership, and organizational effectiveness within that scope. Serve as a senior legal advisor to executive and business unit leadership on complex legal, regulatory, operational, and strategic matters that carry significant financial, reputational, and business impact. Directly represent company in contract negotiations, litigation, and/or regulatory proceedings involving particularly high risk or complexity within functional legal area. Xcel Energy is seeking a highly skilled attorney to lead its Federal Regulatory legal team. Reporting to the Vice President, Legal, this position provides legal counsel to Xcel Energy and its subsidiaries on Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and other federal regulatory matters. The role involves managing complex legal matters, as well as leading a group of attorneys representing Xcel Energy in FERC matters and supervising outside counsel. The role is responsible for all FERC matters in which Xcel Energy has an interest, including transmission and interconnection service, wholesale transactions, formula rate matters, organized energy and capacity market participation, FERC enforcement, and NERC reliability compliance. Xcel Energy’s operating companies are located three regions, including two Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) footprints and one non-RTO region, and applicants with a diverse range of experience will be highly valued. The team this leader oversees also supports the company’s nuclear operations group with Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) matters. Essential Responsibilities
• Provide leadership and counsel to Xcel Energy management in the individual’s functional legal area (e.g., OpCo Regulatory, Litigation, Employment), specifically including interfacing on a regular basis with VP, SVP, and EVP leaders on legal, business and strategic matters.
• Advise on decisions involving significant strategic, operational, and financial trade-offs.
• Is the primary legal subject matter expert on the individual’s functional legal area, including a deep knowledge of that area and its required skillsets, and keeping up with legal developments in the area.
• Identifies and works with business area counterparts to mitigate key legal and business risks in the functional legal area. Is accountable for the results, budgets, and organizational capability of their functional legal area.
• Develop and execute high-level plans that translate business unit strategy, guided by company strategy, into key legal objectives and outcomes for their functional area.
• Directly manage the most complex legal issues, or those with the highest level of risk, in applicable functional legal area and develop strategy related to these issues.
• Frequently responsible for developing legal strategy in ambiguous situations or those without clear precedent.
• Attract, recruit and retain a highly skilled and engaged staff. Communicate Corporate and Business Area vision, strategies and objectives. Establish and communicate clear performance expectations that support achievement of key business objectives. Foster an environment that supports employee development.
• Lead coordination between functional legal areas and business units across the enterprise to ensure colleagues in different groups are aware and engaged with strategic problem solving on critical issues.
• Develop and manage budget in designated areas. Identify adverse trends and implement actions/solutions to minimize or eliminate budget variances.
• Oversee use of external resources including outside legal counsel, to leverage expertise and knowledge transfer to internal resources as appropriate.
• Manage a team of internal and external attorneys in FERC related proceedings.
• Oversee Xcel Energy’s involvement in FERC filings, including rate cases, transactional approvals, tariff amendments, market-based rate matters, rulemakings, and RTO related proceedings.
• Provide legal counsel on FERC compliance issues related to transmission, wholesale production, and corporate affiliation rules.
• Oversee Xcel Energy’s involvement in litigation before FERC, including Section 205 and 206 proceedings under the Federal Power Act.
• Manage appellate litigation in federal court.
• Support the company’s policy advocacy efforts, including meetings with senior FERC officials and comments on pending FERC rulemakings and pending federal legislation.
• Manage FERC enforcement proceedings and support the company’s regulatory compliance programs.
• Advise and support nuclear generation operations regarding NRC regulatory requirements. Minimum Requirements
• J.D. degree from ABA accredited law school required.
• Licensed to practice, or able to be licensed to practice on reciprocity within a reasonable timeframe of accepting the position, where the position is located
• 10 or more years of practice in corporate law department, law firm, government practice or equivalent experience.
• Experience managing a staff is preferred.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills required.
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills.
• Ability to openly manage conflict and disagreements through collaborative discussion. Preferred Qualifications
• Experience with FERC formula rate proceedings and market-based rate matters.
• Familiarity with RTO market rules (particularly MISO, SPP) and litigation, including transmission cost allocation disputes.
• Experience with FERC administrative litigation before Administrative Law Judges.
• Knowledge of NRC regulations and requirements.
• Experience managing direct reports. Our culture is grounded in shared values and employee commitments that guide how we work, support one another, and grow together. Our Values Connected, Committed, Trustworthy, Safe Our Employee Commitments
• Work that makes a difference
• A team you can count of
• Opportunities to grow
• Rewards that help you thrive Xcel Energy provides job applicants reasonable accommodations for disabilities throughout the application process. If you are in need of an accommodation to complete the application process, now or at any time in the future, please complete the Applicant Accommodation Request Form . Non-Bargaining The anticipated starting base pay for this position is: $200,000.00 to $278,900.00 per year This position is eligible for the following benefits: Annual Incentive Program, Long Term Incentive, Medical/Pharmacy Plan, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Dependent Care Reimbursement Account, Health Care Reimbursement Account, Health Savings Account (HSA) (if enrolled in eligible health plan), Limited-Purpose FSA (if enrolled in eligible health plan and HSA), Transportation Reimbursement Account, Short-term di