Jonathan Nase

Member

Jonathan has extensive experience in Pennsylvania administrative law, particularly public utility law. He has represented a wide range of clients, including public utilities (large and small); boroughs, counties, and other municipal corporations; real estate developers and other public utility consumers; and even medical marijuana providers. He has experience in every regulated utility industry in Pennsylvania: water, wastewater, steam, gas, electric, transportation, and telecommunications. Jonathan has assisted clients in completing complex transactions and has represented them in litigation before the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, as well as the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Jonathan has also written articles about public utility law and has presented at conferences for attorneys, local government officials, engineers, and consultants.

Jonathan has a broad range of experience in both the public and private sectors. He served as a staff attorney for the Pennsylvania General Assembly for ten years before entering private practice. He subsequently returned to government service with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, where he served as a Deputy Director in the Office of Special Assistants. Jonathan joined Cozen O’Connor in 2017.

Jonathan earned his law degree from the Duke University School of Law and his undergraduate degree from American University.

Experience

News

Cozen O'Connor Promotes 27 to Membership

May 01, 2019

Cozen O'Connor is pleased to recognize 27 attorneys with the promotion to member: Dylan Alper, Philip J. Berens, Alison Weintraub Berson, Evan Berquist, Alexandra Campau, Alissa K. Christopher, Matthew D. Clyde, Rachel Collins Clarke, Michael A. Corgan, Matthew L. Elkin, Nicole M. Ellis, Alex H. Hayden, David S. Huard, Haryle Kaldis, David Kirchblum, Matthew Evan Lewitz, Jesse Ryan Loffler, Samantha L. Mazo, Lindsey A. Miller, Jeffrey M. Monhait, Jonathan Nase, Jacqueline Promislo, Shelby K. Riney, Kelly Shinn, Terri A. Sutton, Daniel P. Thiel, and Laura Zulick.

Publications

PA Commonwealth Court Reverses PUC, Upholds Some Municipal Permitting Fees

May 04, 2022

The Commonwealth Court of PA reversed the PUC's declaratory order, arguing permitting fees were permissible because they do not “constitute utility regulation.”

Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to Require Diversity Reporting

April 25, 2022

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission will be requiring major jurisdictional public utilities to file annual diversity reports beginning March 2023.

What’s at Stake When the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Takes on Smart Meters? Issues and Impacts [Alert]

November 18, 2021

Jonathan Nase discusses three consolidated cases that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for in December that may impact utilities in the commonwealth.

Buyer and Seller Beware: Does Your Purchase/Sale of a Business Include a Public Utility? [Alert]

October 18, 2021

Jonathan P. Nase discusses why both the buyer and the seller must do their due diligence identifying any permits, licenses, or certificates that must be transferred to the buyer (or otherwise obtained by the buyer) at or before closing.

Continuing the “Return to Normalcy” at the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission [Alert]

July 19, 2021

David P. Zambito and Jonathan P. Nase discuss the PUC's various orders gradually ending the emergency measures it took in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Further Defines Qualifying Alternative Energy Sources [Alert]

May 13, 2021

Jonathan Nase discusses the PUC's Act 40 and Act 114 implementation orders regarding alternative energy sources.

Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Enters a New Phase in Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic [Alert]

March 15, 2021

David P. Zambito and Jonathan P. Nase discuss the additional steps toward returning to pre-COVID-19 pandemic procedures for collecting amounts due for public utility service in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Rules Two Municipal Permitting Fees Are Preempted by State Law [Alert]

February 23, 2021

Jonathan Nase discusses the PUC decisions in response to Armstrong Telecommunications Inc. Petition for Declaratory Order.

Phase 2 of the Moratorium on Utility Shut-offs in Pennsylvania Extended [Alert]

February 22, 2021

Jonathan Nase discusses the emergency order generally prohibiting the termination of public utility service by electric, natural gas, water, wastewater, telecommunications, and steam utilities, and encouraging the impacted utilities to reconnect service to customers previously terminated, to the extent it could be done safely.

Regulating Troubled or Failing Monopolies: Ordering One Public Utility to Acquire Another [Alert]

February 19, 2021

Jonathan Nase discusses a provision in the Pennsylvania code that gives the PUC authority to order a proximate capable public utility to acquire a small water or sewer utility that is struggling to remain viable.

What is This? The Importance of Procedure in Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Proceedings [Alert]

February 04, 2021

Jonathan Nase discusses the differences between the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s procedural rules, the General Rules of Administrative Practice and Procedure, and the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure.

Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Enters Phase 2 of the Moratorium on Utility Shut-Offs [Alert]

October 19, 2020

David P. Zambito and Jonathan P. Nase discuss Chairman Gladys Brown Dutrieuille's modifications to the emergency order.

The Saga Continues: Pennsylvania PUC Delays Action on Terminating the Moratorium on Utility Shut-offs [Alert]

August 28, 2020

David P. Zambito and Jonathan P. Nase discuss the PUC's postponement of its motion addressing termination of the moratorium so the commission would have more time to evaluate comments that had been filed with the PUC.

The DAS Networks Fault Line: A Coming Earthquake in Pennsylvania Administrative Law? [Alert]

August 04, 2020

Jonathan P. Nase discusses the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision in Crown Castle NG East LLC and Pennsylvania-CLE LLC v. Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.

Pennsylvania PUC Remains Deadlocked over Terminating the Moratorium on Utility Shut-offs [Alert]

July 20, 2020

David P. Zambito and Jonathan P. Nase discuss the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission vote on party lines to maintain its moratorium on utility terminations while Governor Tom Wolf’s Proclamation of Disaster Emergency on COVID-19 remains in effect.

In Party-Line Vote, the Pennsylvania PUC Continues the Moratorium on Utility Terminations [Alert]

June 22, 2020

David P. Zambito and Jonathan P. Nase discuss the history and the next steps for Pennsylvania's moratorium on utility terminations.

Several Pennsylvania PUC Regulations Concerning Net Metering Ruled Invalid and Unenforceable [Alert]

May 19, 2020

Jonathan Nase discusses the Commonwealth Court's decision in David N. Hommrich v. Comm., Pa. Pub. Util. Comm’n.

COVID-19 Emergency Mandates on Utility Construction Activities and Supplies

April 07, 2020

Dave Zambito, Michael Klein, Michael Connolly, and Jonathan Nase explain what utility companies need to know about their construction projects in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

COVID-19 and the Utility, Energy, Telecommunications & Transportation Sectors: What [Alert]

March 24, 2020

David Zambito, Michael Klein, Michael Connolly, Gregory Eisenstark, Ira Megdal, and Jonathan Nase discuss the executive orders in New Jersey and Pennsylvania impacting the utility industry.

Receivers of Public Utilities in Pennsylvania: The Need for Legislation or Regulations [Alert]

January 29, 2020

Jonathan P. Nase, James R. Potts and Eric L. Scherling discuss how to address unresolved issues when the PUC orders public utilities to serve as receivers for troubled small utilities.

Industry Sectors

Education

  • Duke University School of Law, J.D., with honors, 1985
  • American University, B.A.
  • Pennsylvania