Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications
Curtis Thaxter’s Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Practice Group focuses on energy regulatory matters and project development and financing, and represents electric utility and telecommunications clients in various matters, including proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) and Maine Public Utilities Commission. Comprised of attorneys with divergent practice backgrounds in real estate, energy, corporate law, project finance, and regulatory affairs, the Group represents electric utilities, project developers and telecommunications clients with operations throughout the United States and Canada on organization, regulatory approval, acquisition, financing and operational matters. Operational matters include water rights issues, power marketing agreements, power contracts, licensing and permits, and construction and real estate contracts. Members of the Group serve as special Maine counsel to national and international energy project lenders.
Public Utility and Telecommunication Representations.
Curtis Thaxter represents electric utilities and telecommunications providers on a wide variety of regulatory and operational matters including:
- Electric utilities in rate, financing, corporate reorganization and transmission certification proceedings before the Maine PUC.
- Cellular carriers in Eligible Telecommunications Carrier designation cases before the Maine PUC.
- Local exchange carriers and CATV-based providers of telecommunications services before the Maine PUC.
- Internet service providers both before the Maine PUC and in federal court litigation with local exchange carriers.
- Public utilities on all aspects of real estate matters, including transmission rights of way, distribution and transmission easements, pole ownership and use agreements, and access rights agreements with telephone and cable companies and municipalities.
- Utilities on operational and employment matters.
- Utilities on vendor contract negotiations, and substation and transmission line construction projects.
- Utilities in negotiating standard offer service contracts, competitive energy producer licensing, and generator interconnection matters.
Energy Project Representations.
Transmission Development: The firm has taken a leading role in the development of merchant transmission projects in the Northeast. Neptune Regional Transmission System, LLC (“Neptune”) is a merchant transmission company. The firm has led the legal team in all stages of developing a first of its kind 660 megawatt undersea transmission line and related electric converter stations became operational in June, 2007 linking two of the nation’s most significant and complex power grids, PJM Interconnection and the NY Independent System Operator (NYISO). Curtis Thaxter has been involved in developing the concept for the project, obtaining permits, negotiating equipment and construction contracts, negotiating a novel contract for selling transmission line capacity to a public utility, organizing entities, obtaining FERC regulatory approvals, recruiting a successful management team, and obtaining multiple tiers of debt and equity financing approaching $750,000,000. James Broder is general counsel and Charles Micoleau serves as regulatory counsel for Neptune. Construction financing closed in July 2005. The project was named 2005 North American Infrastructure Deal of the Year by Project Finance Magazine and 2005 Project Finance Deal of the Year by Institutional Investor Magazine. The firm is also providing services to a similar project linking New Jersey and New York that was selected by the New York Power Authority to provide it with 660 Megawatts of energy and capacity. The firm serves as counsel to other proposed transmission projects.
LNG Receiving Terminal Developments: Our attorneys have represented two international petrochemical companies and an Indian Tribe in the development of proposals for LNG receiving terminals in Maine.
U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantees. The firm has been placed on the standing list of approved counsel for advising and representing the Department of Energy (DOE) on transactions under its Loan Guarantee Program. In the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Congress appropriated $6 billion to support $60 billion of private loans to private energy developers; the targeted industries include some in which Curtis Thaxter has expertise - renewable energy and transmission. The DOE solicited applications from qualified law firms. The firm's extensive expertise in energy law and financial transactions allowed it to meet the DOE's stringent qualifications.
Other Representative Transactions.
- Acquisition, development, and debt and equity financing at various stages of wind, hydroelectric, and biomass energy projects in the United States and Canada
- Acquisition by a Maine electric utility of a New-England-wide “carrier’s carrier” telecommunication business.
- Acquisition of Maine utility generating facilities, including all aspects of bidding and acquisition negotiations, licensing, real estate and due diligence.
- Acquisition and sales of independent local exchange carriers.
- Loans to hydropower producers and cogeneration facilities.