Our firm has counseled the power industry for more than 25 years. Whether the need is project development, trading, transmission, or permit-related, we help clients maximize their commercial opportunities and returns within the regulatory parameters that define electric power and utility operation.
Bracewell advises investor-owned utilities, cooperative and municipal utilities, developers of competitive generation (including cogeneration and small power production) and merchant transmission, power marketers and brokers. We are key players representing private equity investors in power generation facility acquisitions and divestitures. A particular strength is our work on structured commodity transactions that involve the formation, purchase and sale of gas and power trading positions, companies, electricity derivatives and other energy futures strategies.
We help power generation and transmission clients achieve competitive advantage in the deregulated electric power market. On the transmission side, our lawyers facilitate power transmission service sales and purchases, including generator and merchant transmission interconnection issues — a capability that reflects our work creating the only U.S. merchant transmission line. We secure market-based pricing authority under the Federal Power Act and access to the bulk power transmission grid under the Energy Policy Act of 1992 for power generators and suppliers.In addition, we advise on interconnection agreements, rate schedules and tariffs. We also help with governmental authorizations for transmission lines under the Federal Power Act and state and local laws (including environmental analyses and approvals, rights-of-way and easement agreements).
Our lawyers have developed particular strength at securing National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors designations under the Domenici-Barton Energy Policy Act of 2005 and secure permits for the construction of transmission facilities. We help power transmission clients participate in regionally organized markets from New England to California and the Southwest, and provide compliance counsel on trading requirements for energy, capacity, ancillary services and transmission. Areas of specialized focus in our industry counsel include hydroelectric permitting and licensing and permitting for cross-border power providers.
We are among the few law firms that have mastered the complex mix of sophisticated legal, financial, regulatory and management issues required for global power plant development. The enormous financial cost and time requirements of these facilities require wide-ranging counsel involving bid preparation, project risk analysis, project financing (in amounts that frequently exceed $1 billion), project siting and regulatory approvals. We can work with individual electric utilities or consortiums of power companies to create the most advantageous plant ownership, power output and power supply arrangements. Bracewell is experienced in the full range of operational issues that utility generating plants involve, from energy supply and purchase agreements to effective media relations and coalition building in support of utility power projects nationwide.