Catherine McKay
Clayton Utz
Catherine is a highly accomplished regulatory lawyer specialising in the energy sector. With a strong background in corporate, regulator and private practice settings, Catherine possesses a deep understanding of the energy regulatory landscape and its application to government and private sector clients.
VicGrid: Catherine is a key advisor on the energy regulatory issues relating to VicGrid's role in planning and delivering major transmission projects and Renewable Energy Zones, including network access.
AusNet: For 10 years, Catherine was the Regulatory Special Counsel at AusNet. She advised on all aspects of the application of national and jurisdictional energy regulatory frameworks, including on licensing and market registration requirements, distribution and transmission revenue proposals, gas access arrangements and access arrangement proposals, and electricity connection agreements.
Transmission Network Service Providers: Catherine has advised on the intersection of regulatory models and commercial objectives for proposed major transmission network augmentations.
Embedded Networks: Catherine advises clients across a range of industries in relation to the regulatory requirements for owning and operating electricity and gas embedded networks.
Network and retail compliance: Catherine has advised energy generation, network and retail clients on their compliance obligations under a broad range of national and jurisdiction-specific legislation and regulatory instruments. This work has include preparing consolidated compendiums of obligations to facilitate institutional compliance.
Essential Services Commission of Victoria: Prior to joining Clayton Utz, Catherine advised on a range of regulatory issues in the electricity, gas and rail sectors, including licensing, access, and the scope of the Commission's powers in regulated industries. Catherine drafted a number of regulatory determinations, which were successfully defended on appeal.
Policy design and implementation: Catherine obtained extensive experience working for and with regulators and corporate and government clients in energy policy development and implementation through legislation and subordinate instruments, including in relation to the National Energy Customer Framework, the introduction of hydrogen and blended gases, the Victorian Land Access Code of Practice, the AER's Ring-Fencing Guidelines and the Victorian Codes of Practice in the distribution and retail sectors.