
Jessica Bell
Energy Director & Deputy Director
Jessica Bell (she, her) is an experienced attorney* dedicated to promoting the public interest in the environmental and energy sectors. She previously served as the Clean Energy Attorney at the Center, focusing on energy law issues at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and on state energy policy matters. Immediately prior to joining the Center, she was an associate at Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP, where she advocated for municipal utilities before state and federal agencies and courts. Before entering private practice, she was an honors fellow in the Office of General Counsel of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, focusing on legal issues related to research and development, pesticides and toxics, and implementation of federal environmental laws in Indian Country. She also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Andrew M. Mead of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Bell graduated from Wellesley College cum laude with a BA in chemistry and earned a JD with academic honors from the Columbia University School of Law. During law school, she served on the board of the Human Rights Law Review and completed internships at the State of Alaska Department of Law and the U.S. Department of Justice.
*Jessica is admitted to practice law in Connecticut and the District of Columbia.
Publications
Academic Articles
Putting the Public Back into Public Convenience and Necessity in Natural Gas Pipeline Certificates
(Spring 2022 • American Bar Association, Natural Resources & Environment • Co-Author)
Climate Stumbling Blocks: Zombie Energy Laws, States, and the Path to Paris
(2021 • Environmental Law Reporter • Co-Author)
The Clean Power Plan and Carbon Emission Trading in Indian Country: Exploring Opportunities and Implementation Issues
(August 2016 • American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources • Co-Author)
Op-Eds and Analysis
The DER future is nearly here? Stuck in the weeds on Order No. 2222 implementation
(July 15, 2021 • Utility Dive)
Big Changes May Be Ahead for Natural Gas Pipelines, if FERC Does Its Job
(September 16, 2020 • Utility Dive)
Erring on the Side of Trampling on States’ Rights
(February 10, 2020 • Utility Dive)
State Attorneys General Prepare To Fight for Clean Energy Rights
(October 16, 2019 • The Hill)
The Looming Threat To State Renewable Goals in Wholesale Electricity Markets
(May 8, 2019 • Utility Dive)
Reports
Where Are We Now? A Year of Agency & Attorney General Action
(December 2022 • Contributing Author)
The Proof is in the Policies — 2021 Wins
(December 2021 • Contributing Author)
Full Court Press: How State Attorneys General Guarded Against the Trump Administration’s Anti-Regulatory Agenda
(January 2021 • Contributing Author)
300 and Counting: State Attorneys General Lead the Fight for Health and the Environment
(December 2019 • Contributing Author)
State Attorneys General: Empowering the Clean Energy Future
(September 2019 • Co-Author)
Decarbonization 2.0: In an Era of Conflicting Jurisdictional Claims, What Stays, What Retires, Who Pays, and Who Decides?
(June 2018 • Co-Author)
Research
FERC Judicial Review Tracker
(Ongoing • Co-Author)
Tracking Transmission Reform
(Ongoing • Author)
Are We There Yet? Getting Distributed Energy Resources to Markets
(July 2021 • Co-Author)