Background

 

Bob Rima was previously General Counsel for the Public Utility Commission of Texas.  He has also served as Senior Vice President and General Attorney for Southern Union Gas Company and Vice President and General Attorney for Western Gas Interstate.

 

Bob received his Juris Doctorate from Franklin Pierce Law School in Concord, New Hampshire, and his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the State University of New York at Oswego.  He clerked for the Supreme Court of New Hampshire.  He is a member of the Travis County, Texas and Federal Energy Bar Associations.  Bob is a Past Chair and served on the Board of the Public Utility Law Section, State Bar of Texas, has served as the Secretary, Board of Directors, American Lung Association of Texas, and is President Elect of the Austin University Area Rotary Club.

 

Representative Accomplishments

 

Actively participated in the development of the competitive wholesale and retail markets for electricity in Texas and has represented generators and retail electric providers on a variety of competitive market matters before the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and the Third Court of Appeals.

 

Provided deposition testimony as a legal expert in the area of Texas telecommunication franchises in federal court case relating to the proper calculation and payment of franchise fees.

 

Assisted municipalities in negotiating and drafting telephone, electric, gas and cable franchises.

 

Managed litigation in six key cases bringing $16.3 billion of nuclear plant into service in Texas without irreparably harming the financial integrity of the utilities involved or adversely impacting growth or jobs in affected communities. The cases involved 618 days of hearings and over 104,000 pages of transcript.

 

Negotiated the largest telephone rate case settlement in Texas totaling $1.234 billion in customer benefits and featuring significant infrastructure upgrades, reductions in access charges, as well as a four-year rate freeze while maintaining financial stability and an opportunity for higher incentive-based returns for the telephone utility.

 

Prepared and presented evidence and argument in the public interest as to the reasonableness of gas costs in a $7.2 billion fuel reconciliation case.  The case included issues concerning management prudence in connection with the failure to timely exercise rights under contracts; the payment of above market prices for gas purchases; and poor utilization of the available spot market for gas by the utility.

 

Represented a coalition of cities in a major rate case involving a large electric utility and, while in hearing, negotiated a significant settlement which reduced rates to all ratepayers and provided very favorable reductions to municipal street lighting customers.

 

Directed the presentation of the staff position in contested and uncontested electric and telephone cases before the Public Utility Commission of Texas.  Supervised 18 attorneys and 15 support personnel.  Managed $1.4 million budget.

 

Negotiated gas supply contracts and transportation agreements for commercial and industrial energy end-users and resellers.

 

Served as Chair of the Governmental Affairs Committee of the Southern Gas Association.

 

Represented municipalities, utilities, and individual intervenors in gas and electric rate cases.

 

Performed legal audit of royalty provisions in several producer contracts and identified litigation position for a large royalty owner in Texas.

 

Directed all litigation and handled appearances before state regulators in Texas, Oklahoma and Arizona and federal regulators for a local distribution company and an interstate pipeline.

 

Negotiated several municipal franchises and coordinated municipal franchise campaigns.  Developed a new generation of municipal utility franchise that has become the standard in Texas.

 

Articles

 

"New Gas Industry Demands Strong Marketing, End-User Contract," Oil & Gas Journal.

 

"LDC Guidelines for Short-Term Supply," Natural Gas Producer Prices.

 

"Marketing and Contracting in a Competitive Gas Environment," Natural Gas Producer Prices.

 

Speeches

 

“Putting Telecommunications Issues into Perspective,” presented at the Texas Municipal League’s One Day Workshop  titled Telecommunications Agreements: The Future for Texas Cities.

 

"Regulation Without Discretion?" presented to the State Bar of Texas Public Utility Law Section.

 

"A Walk Through State Legal/Regulatory Issues," presented at an Executive Enterprises Seminar on Long Term Gas Contracts in Houston.

 

"Negotiated Rulemaking in Texas," presented to the Administrative Law Section of the Travis County Bar Association.

 

"Settlements: Win-Win Regulatory Solutions," presented to the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants.

 

"Competition in Electricity," presented to the Gulf Coast Cogeneration Association.

 

"Limited Liability in the Third Millennium," presented at the annual Public Utility Conference sponsored by the University of Texas at Dallas.

 

"Regulated Competition and Other Oxymora: A View of Intrastate Transportation and Gas Marketing in Texas," presented at the annual meeting of the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association.