Energy Transactions
Areas of Focus
Power Supply Transactions
Our lawyers have been lead counsel in some of the largest recent power supply transactions. We have special skill in the comprehensive contractual arrangements that are the foundation of major wholesale transactions. Our energy team can handle all aspects of a significant power supply and transmission deal, including ancillary services, credit support, regulatory law, bankruptcy law, and general corporate matters.
Representative Matters
- Addressed many of the transmission and delivery issues associated with emerging deregulated markets by negotiating all power supply contract requirements on behalf of Rayburn County, Texas Electric Cooperative for supply in excess of 600 MW.
- Negotiated purchased power supply contracts for New Orleans ratepayers and defended them against regulatory challenges, creating a diversified supply portfolio that resulted in $127 million in savings for ratepayers that will continue to accrue indefinitely.
Bulk Energy Purchasing
Our energy lawyers help many clients reduce energy costs and increase service reliability. We analyze the client's energy costs, review all available options, and design an action plan to implement these options. Our diagnostic teams have obtained immediate and long-term savings by renegotiating power contracts, requesting and comparing proposals from new service providers and, in some cases, finding other service options in local or regional electricity markets.
Representative Matters
- Persuaded the FERC to allow Ormet Primary Aluminum Corporation to pay less than the filed rates pending the outcome of a case compensating transmission owners – the first time an individual customer was allowed to pay less than the filed rate in such circumstances.
- Negotiated new contracts for a top ten U.S. real estate investment trust with holdings in Massachusetts, New York, Maryland and Washington, DC, resulting in annual energy cost savings of more than 38 percent.
Utility Mergers & Acquisitions
Our lawyers frequently intervene in utility merger cases to represent clients on merger-related issues before the FERC, the SEC and various state regulatory bodies. We have been instrumental in leading FERC merger cases involving transmission access policies, the convergence of gas and electric utility operations and customer "hold harmless" protections on behalf of municipalities, state regulators, electric cooperatives and privately-owned utilities. We have helped clients take advantage of potential merger and acquisition opportunities.
Project Finance
Sonnenschein's experience includes creating and implementing a variety of financing and investor relationships for conventional and renewable energy and renewable fuel plants. These may include bonds, leases, sale-leaseback arrangements and other ownership and investment structures. We also are experienced in monetizing the environmental attributes of renewable energy and energy conservation actions, which may have substantial value and provide critical additional revenue. Our experience includes advising market-leading investment fund managers, hedge funds, investment advisors, and other financial professionals on energy and fuels policy.
Sonnenschein lawyers have extensive experience in specific plant-related incentives such as improvements and local government support; state workforce development and economic development grants; planning and zoning approvals; shipping and off-take agreements; development of codes administration agreements between the ownership entity and the local government; licensing agreements by technological providers of equipment and/or processing design and engineering joint ownership, maintenance and operational agreements.
We have effectively handled major financing transactions, including the representation of: a national bank as lead investor and agent in a $1.2 billion lease financing for the acquisition and construction of four power plants located in Illinois, Pennsylvania and Arizona; a bank and institutional lender in a $600 million lease financing for the acquisition and construction of a merchant power plant to be located in Southern California; various insurance companies as subordinated debt in a project financing to construct a solar powered electric generation facility; a joint venture (that included Zurn Industries) in connection with a financing transaction for a complex California geothermal project; and Bayerische Hypo-und-Vereinsbank AG, as Administrative Agent, in connection with a $325 million senior secured debt financing to a United States electric power generating company.
Emerging Market Strategies
Sonnenschein’s energy attorneys are ideally positioned to help clients understand and take advantage of competitive opportunities in light of ongoing changes in the energy industry. We help our clients make early assessments of the wholesale electric market, giving them an economic advantage by being an early player, as well as the freedom to obtain power supplies from alternative sources. When the restructured electricity market raises difficult and unresolved tax issues for public utilities, our lawyers help them analyze how proposed deregulation programs will affect outstanding tax exempt bonds and the financing of future capital improvements.
Representative Matters
- Served as lead regulatory council for the City Council of New Orleans in the unprecedented reconstruction of the city's bankrupt retail electric and gas systems in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
- Defeated an effort by the Louisiana Public Service Commission to change a rate allocation method to favor Entergy Operating Companies with substantial industrial customers, continuing the lower rates received by City of New Orleans residential ratepayers.
- Defended successfully the City of New Orleans against a massive Entergy overcharge relating to a multi-billion dollar nuclear plant, saving consumers an estimated $90 million by knocking out nearly the entire requested increase.
- Defeated the Boston Edison Company in a precedent-setting FERC case involving Boston Edison's efforts to rewrite their contract with the town of Concord, Massachusetts based upon divestiture of generating facilities.
