MZLS guides energy developers, investors, and operators through Puerto Rico’s complex regulatory and federal landscape, leveraging insider experience to help the private sector succeed from project development to compliance and litigation.
MZLS represents energy developers, investors, and operators navigating Puerto Rico’s complex regulatory and federal landscape. Our attorneys combine regulatory fluency, environmental depth, and Washington insight to guide private proponents through every stage of project development—from permitting and procurement to compliance, litigation, and federal coordination.
Few firms unite MZLS’s vantage point: we have served within the institutions that built Puerto Rico’s energy framework, and we now help the private sector thrive within it.
What We Do
Regulatory & Administrative Counsel
MZLS represents energy producers, service providers, and investors before the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB) and the Public Service Board. Our attorneys handle licensing, rate cases, interconnection approvals, and administrative appeals with deep command of Puerto Rico’s evolving grid regulations. We also guide clients through PREB rulemakings and compliance audits to ensure full alignment with DOE and FERC oversight.
Environmental & Permitting for Energy Projects
The firm assists developers with environmental and permitting processes before the DNER, EPA, and Council on Environmental Quality. MZLS has handled high-profile cases, including the 2017 coal-ash litigation, and continues to advise on EIS preparation, waste and water permitting, and environmental compliance for renewable, LNG, and distributed-generation projects.
Public-Private Partnerships & Procurement
MZLS is among the few firms with hands-on experience structuring and executing P3s in Puerto Rico’s energy sector. Our team helped deliver the first FEMA-funded energy project under a full P3 concession and advised the P3A in developing the LUMA Energy procurement manual. We continue to guide clients on RFP compliance, bid evaluation, contract negotiation, and post-award administration.
Federal Government Affairs & Energy Policy Advocacy
With offices in San Juan and Washington, D.C., MZLS operates at the crossroads of federal policy and project execution. We advocate before the DOE, EPA, and FEMA to secure approvals, funding, and interagency coordination. The firm engages with Congress and oversight agencies to align Puerto Rico’s energy goals with national clean energy and resilience priorities.
Regulatory Compliance & Risk Management
MZLS advises energy operators on compliance with PREB, EPA, OSHA, and federal grant requirements. We perform audits, design internal controls, and coordinate responses to agency inquiries or enforcement actions. Our integrated approach bridges compliance and litigation to minimize exposure and maintain operational readiness across all regulatory fronts.
Energy Contracts & Commercial Structuring
The firm drafts and negotiates power-purchase agreements (PPAs), fuel-supply contracts, and EPC arrangements that reflect Puerto Rico’s regulatory and financial realities. MZLS integrates transactional, environmental, and administrative insight to build contractual frameworks that meet financing standards and withstand regulatory scrutiny.
Energy Litigation & Dispute Resolution
MZLS represents clients in disputes before PREB, Puerto Rico courts, and U.S. federal forums involving rate challenges, interconnection denials, and procurement disputes. Our attorneys combine deep sector knowledge with litigation strategy, ensuring cohesive advocacy from administrative filings through appellate review.
Project Development & Transaction Support
The firm supports developers and investors from concept to operation across LNG, solar, hydro, and microgrid projects. We advise on permitting, land use, interconnection, finance, and joint-venture structuring—helping clients achieve practical, bankable, and compliant project outcomes.
Policy & Oversight Advisory
MZLS attorneys have shaped Puerto Rico’s current energy policy through roles in drafting Act 17-2019 and serving on the Public Service Board. This first-hand experience allows us to anticipate regulatory priorities, helping clients position their projects and investments for long-term success within the Island’s energy transition.
Few firms combine MZLS’s policy pedigree with hands-on regulatory experience. Our attorneys have been engaged in nearly every phase of Puerto Rico’s modern energy sector—drafting the laws and frameworks that govern today’s market, advising agencies that enforce them, and representing private proponents who operate within them.
We understand not only what the rules say, but how they are applied. From securing federal clearances for generation projects and navigating PREB proceedings to structuring P3 concessions and resolving compliance disputes, MZLS helps clients move projects from concept to operation with precision and speed.
