Dame Fiona Woolf DBE

Fiona Woolf  has over 20 years experience in dealing with regulation, market design and implementation and major projects in the electricity industry - culminating in a CBE in 2002 for her contribution to the UK knowledge economy and invisible earnings. She has advised over 28 governments. She was awarded a DBE in the 2015 New Year Honours.
 
At CMS Cameron McKenna, Fiona has built an innovative energy and major projects practice that spans law, engineering and economics, successfully building on the gaps and overlaps. Fiona has worked around the globe in India, Australia, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and Scandinavia, establishing a unique reputation.

She was a Member of the Competition Commission from 2005 until 2013. She was a non-executive director of Affinity Water Ltd until December  2013.
 
Fiona studied Law at Keele University and studied Comparative Law at the University of Strasbourg. She qualified as a solicitor in 1973. She became a partner in CMS Cameron McKenna in 1981. She was awarded a senior fellowship at Harvard University in 2001/ 2. She has been awarded   honorary doctorates by Keele University, the College of Law and City University. She became  Chancellor of the  University of Law  in November 2014.
 
Brief details of some of her many assignments are set out below.

 

Reforms, Restructurings and Privatisations
 
 
·                         England and Wales: Leader of a McKenna team of 38 lawyers, advising on, drafting and negotiating over 700 agreements and codes for the restructuring and privatisation of The National Grid Company plc including the legislation, ancillary services agreements, the Grid Code, transmission access and pricing and the regulatory regime.
.               Mexico:Advising on the restructuring and market implementation of the Mexican electricity sector. 
·                         India: Project Director (appointed by the State Government and the World Bank) for the implementation of the restructuring of the Orissa State Electricity Board utilising a single buyer model. Drafting legislation and taking it through a State and Central Government approval process. Advice on power purchase agreements and IPP projects. .
·                         Northern Ireland: Restructuring and flotation of Northern Ireland Electricity (implementing a single buyer model) responsible for legislation, licences, connection and transmission access agreements and project co-ordination. Advice on the power purchase agreements, the Grid Code and other documents.
·                         Argentina: Advised the successful bidders on the privatisation of the transmission system and advised on the trading and regulatory regime established in the law, concessions (licences), resolutions, regulations and executive resolutions for transmission access and pricing.
·                         World Bank: Ad hoc advice under direct contract on various power sector restructurings in Africa, India, Latin America, and Asia and the design and implementation of regulatory regimes; frequent  speaker at World Bank seminars.
·                         Dominican Republic: Advice to the World Bank on the second generation of reforms, loan appraisal and conditions precedent and also renegotiation of power purchase agreements.
·                         Turkey: Member of Expert Panel overseeing the implementation of a new wholesale market and the privatisation of 20 distribution companies. Advised on constitutional and legislative changes, transmission and distribution arrangements and power purchase agreeements.
·                         Australia: Advice to the Government of Victoria on the restructuring of the State Electricity Commission of Victoria, the creation of a new regulatory regime and a new market including the Grid Code and transmission access.
·                         Republic of South Africa: Advised the South African government on the Electricity Distribution Industry restructuring and constitutional and legislative changes
·                         Republic of Ireland: Advice to the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) on unbundling and structural options and advice on implementation. Advice on the infrastructure agreement with EirGrid (providing transmission access and control).
·                         India: Advice on the privatisation of the distribution sector and its regulation using innovative “distribution margin” and “regulation by contract” techniques in Karnataka
·                         Russia: Advised on  a governance structure for the restructured electricity industry. Advised on a new legal and regulatory regime for the energy sector. Designed a mechanism to attract new investment in generation. Advised on market power monitoring and mitigation. Drafted electricity supply and transmission agreements for a large aluminium smelter.

Kosovo: Strategic adviser on the privatisation of the electricity distribution system.
Infrastructure Projects
·                         Cambodia: Prepared for the Cambodian government of a policy paper on private investment in power and drafted power procurement legislation together with and model documents (RFQ, RFP, evaluation guidelines, power purchase agreements, Implementation Agreement, Fuel Supply Agreement, Site Lease for large-scale, small-scale and rural electrification projects) acceptable to private sector investors.
·                         India: Advised Ministry of Finance on renegotiation of fast-track power purchase agreements.
·                         Portugal: Negotiated two successfully financed IPP projects - Pego (partially-built and coal-fired)  and Tapada do Outeiro (gas-fired)) involving private sector participation in power generation. Obtained EC competition clearances.
·                         Portugal: Advised on projects to bring gas to Portugal (both LNG and using the Maghreb pipeline) and the establishment of a country-wide gas distribution business.
·                          Mauritius: Advised on existing IPP contracts and the procurement process and bid evaluation for two new power projects (bagasse and coal-fired) including drafting and negotiating the power purchase agreements and other documents
·                         Channel Tunnel: Negotiator of Concession Agreement and the Treaty for the Channel Tunnel on behalf of Eurotunnel with the British and French governments.
·                         Channel Tunnel Rail Link: Advised on the agreements for the development of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link on a PPP basis.
·                         Ontario:   Advised Ministry of Finance on treatment of existing IPP contracts and their integration into the new electricity market.
·                         Montenegro: Provided a critique of new electricity sector legislation from the point of view of attracting investment in infrastructure
·                         Malaysia: Advice on existing power purchase agreements and the Bakun hydro project
·                         Pakistan: Design and negotiation of documents for a major independent transmission project in Pakistan on behalf of the developer.
 
Regulation
·                         European Union: Carried out a study for the European Commission on creating a regulatory regime for third party access to electricity transmission and distribution networks in Member States for the European Commission. 
·                         India: Advice to the World Bank on establishment of independent regulatory regimes (and draft legislation) for the States of Orissa, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in connection with electricity sector restructurings
·                         Ontario, Canada: Policy adviser to the Ministry of Energy Science and Technology on legislation, licences and strengthening the Regulator .  Expert witness before the Ontario Energy Board. Conducted seminars to train Ontario Energy Board (regulator) staff.
·                         Thailand: Study for World Bank on private sector investment and establishment of a regulatory regime for water, energy, telecommunications and transport industries. Advised on a new legal and regulatory framework for the electricity sector
·                         Peru: Designed new regulatory regime for transmission planning and the governance structure for an independent transmission planning unit.
·                         South Africa : Advised NERSA (the regulator) on the regulation of IPP contracts and procurement processes, and legislative changes to its regulatory powers.
·                         Saudi Arabia: Advised ECRA on aspects of tariff regulation for the electricity sector
Electricity Markets
·                         Ontario, Canada: Advised the  Independent Market Operator on the documentation of the market and operating rules (including ancillary services) and its governance and liability arrangements.
·                         California, USA: Preparation of the Phase II (detailed) FERC filing of the documentation to establish the Independent System Operator and the Power Exchange and developing the operating protocols and procedures with the ISO and PX staff. Advised on the regime for existing contracts and ancillary services. Chaired large stakeholder meetings involving all regional participants.
·                         Guatemala: Advice to the Government on drafting regulations for the new wholesale market.
·                         Mexico: Advisor to the Secretary of Energy on the legislation, regulation, restructuring and market design of its state-owned electricity industry. Advice on an IPP procurement programme and power purchase agreements. Advice on strengthening the regulatory regime.
·                         USA: Strategic advisor to Board of PJM Interconnection LLC (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland) with reference to its role as an independent system and market operator, its governance arrangements, its market power monitoring functions and aspects of its transmission access arrangements  and tariffs. 
·                         England and Wales: Acted as expert to determine amendments to convert a financial contract for differences into a physical power purchase agreement on introduction of New Electricity Trading Arrangements (NETA).
 
Cross-Border/ Regional Projects and Power Trade
·                         Central America: Member of Expert Panel on SIEPAC Project to implement a regional market; advising on regional legislation (Treaty and protocols), overseeing the implementation of a regional regulatory commission and regional regulatory regime as well as the detailed rules of the new market and the transmission planning, investment and access regime and transmission pricing.
·                         Greater Mekong Subregion: Advice to Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Yunan Province (under the auspices of the World Bank) on the establishment of regional power trade, transmission investment, access pricing and the necessary institutions.
·                         Malaysia: Design of documentation for an independent transmission project and advice on the Bakun interconnector project (involving Malaysia and Indonesia).
·                         England and Wales/France: Negotiated the agreements for use of the England-France electricity interconnector.
·                         Italy/Greece: Advised on the regime for the use of the Italy-Greece interconnector.
·                         Norway: Advised Statnett  on various issues including proposed European and Asian interconnector projects
·                         Southern Africa: Advised on agreements for export of power from South Africa to a smelter in Mozambique (across Swaziland) and on regulatory guidelines for electricity regulators in the region to adopt to facilitate regional power trade (under the auspices of RERA and the World Bank)
·                         West Africa: Advice on the design of a special purpose company and agreements to build a transmission line linking four countries, the Treaty, International Project Agreement and Transmission Services Agreement and the constitutional documents of the Special Purpose Company and Shreholders' Agreement.
 
 
 
Education
 
Strasbourg University, Diploma in Comparative Law 1968
Keele University, BA 1970 (Law and Psychology)
Solicitor of the Supreme Court England and Wales, 1973
Senior Fellow, Harvard University 2001-2002
 
Publications
 “Global Transmission Expansion – Recipes for Success” , book published by PennWell Inc, 2002.
World Bank publication entitled “Governance and Regulation of Power Pools and System Operators – An International Comparison” by James Barker, Jr. Bernard Tenenbaum and Fiona Woolf.
World Bank publication entitled “Integrating Independent Power Producers into Emerging Wholesale Power Markets” by Fiona Woolf and Jonathan Halpern.
World Bank publication entitled “Regulation by Contract : A New Way to Privatize Electricity Distribution? ” by Tonci Bakovic, Bernard Tenenbaum and Fiona Woolf.