Overview
The Energy, Regulatory and Telecommunications practice of Pullman & Comley offers a wide range of legal services to assist clients in responding to the opportunities and requirements of the energy, utility and telecommunications markets throughout the New England region and the country. This practice incorporates the firm’s extensive transactional and regulatory experience in:
- Renewable energy projects and biofuels
- Electricity and power markets
- Power plant development and financing
- Energy procurement, conservation and demand-side management
- Battery energy storage systems
- Natural gas markets
- Water utilities and water treatment
- District steam heating and chilled water
- Wireless and wireline telecommunications
Our attorneys deliver practical, focused results for our clients. We deal with every aspect of energy, utility and telecommunications practice, including real estate, leasing, regulatory proceedings, rate setting, siting and land use, interconnection, environmental law, taxation, business, project and operational finance and litigation.
Attorneys in this practice have extensive experience before federal and state agencies, including: the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Connecticut Siting Council, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, as well as similar agencies throughout the East Coast.
Our attorneys also have extensive experience before state siting councils and regularly practice before local zoning, wetlands and land use agencies with respect to the siting of electric generating facilities, telecommunications towers and antennas, water treatment facilities, fuel pipelines, transmission lines and substations as those agencies balance the impacts and public benefits of various projects.
Pullman’s regulatory team has experience in the cutting-edge issues facing the energy and utility sectors, such as: renewable energy projects, competitive energy pricing and procurement, power plant development, energy contracts, battery energy storage systems, licensing of competitive suppliers, distributed generation, project financing, conservation and load management, metering and transmission enhancements and biofuels. In addition, our attorneys have a wide range of experience in matters that are ancillary to energy and utility matters, such as environmental permitting and compliance, taxation, property valuation, antitrust matters, contractual issues, mergers and acquisitions of utility companies, and unfair trade practice statutes.
Experience
- Representation of utilities before FERC and state regulators throughout the Northeast in rate matters, restructuring, market access and resource portfolio requirements
- Representation of various power plant developers in regulatory proceedings, permitting and transactional matters
- Representation of independent electric generation plants for siting approvals
- Representation of electric generation plants for development and construction financing
- Representation of lenders in connection with project financing for fossil-fueled power projects
- Representation of licensed national and regional wireline and wireless telecommunications providers and national wireless infrastructure developers in procurement of siting and regulatory approvals
- Representation of national telecommunications providers and national infrastructure developers in lease review and procurement
- Representation of licensed national and regional wireline telecommunications providers in state regulatory proceedings and proceedings before the Federal Communications Commission
- Representation of licensed national and regional wireline telecommunications providers in negotiations of interconnection agreements and facility and equipment leasing
- Representation of utilities in rate proceedings before state regulators
- Representation of utilities on customer-related issues
- Representation of parties involved in disputes associated with water companies' water allocation rights
- Representation of biomass gasification plant in obtaining regulatory approvals
- Representation of state finance authority in refinancing of stranded costs through rate reduction bonds as well as bonds to protect the state's conservation and renewable energy programs
- Representation of landfill gas project, including assistance with environmental and regulatory approvals; financing, and obtaining grants for construction
- Representation of Qualifying Facilities in disputes concerning ownership of renewable energy credits
- Representation of television network before regulatory agency in connection with cable company franchise rates and agreements
- Representation of wood energy project before regulatory agencies and in state court appeals
- Representation of hydroelectric projects before regulatory agencies and in construction contract negotiations and disputes
- Representation of resources recovery authority in negotiation of energy contract, regulatory approval and state and federal litigation
- Representation of private power producer in connection with the buy out of an energy contract
- Representation of a cogeneration equipment vendor in arbitration and state court litigation concerning construction dispute
- Representation of municipalities and other groups regarding siting of transmission lines
- Representation of a municipal utility in resource acquisition, wholesale power contracts and power plant development
- Representation of electric generators in negotiating tax agreement with municipalities
- Representation of large consumers in the competitive procurement and negotiation of contracts to meet their energy needs and for demand-side management and conservation measures
- Representation of parties in power contract disputes
- Representation of local exchange carriers and end-users before state utility commissions and the Federal Communications Commission
- Representation of manufacturers, service companies, financing authorities and end-users in alternative energy projects
- Representation of wind generation developer before the Connecticut Siting Council
- Representation of buyers in conducting due diligence on potential power plant acquisition
News & Insights
News
Events
Publications
Press Releases
Case Studies
- 2022
Our environmental team is defending a variety of clients that have had enforcement actions brought against them under the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and state and federal waste regulations. The actions could have resulted in millions of dollars of fines being levied against our clients. However, by working with technical professionals and explaining the science behind the alleged violations, our team was able to secure reasonable settlements for our clients.
- 2022
Our energy team succeeded in gaining regulatory approval of an innovative thermal heating loop powered by fuel cell technology that will provide clean, reliable local electrical generation to an urban grid in Connecticut’s largest municipality. In addition, the thermal loop that the fuel cell powers will provide cogenerated thermal energy to local establishments allowing them to retire old, inefficient boilers.
- 2022
Our environmental lawyers have represented an energy project developer that had its project rejected due to stormwater permitting concerns. Pullman’s environmental team worked with the developer and Connecticut’s environmental regulators to renew that permit application and bring the project into development. Since beginning construction, the project has received favorable comments from Connecticut’s regulators.
- 09.24.2019
Revolution Wind, a next generation 200-megawatt offshore wind farm that will be located in federal waters 50 miles from New London, Connecticut will help Connecticut meet its renewable energy goals affordably, and will deliver clean energy to Connecticut utilities during peak hours of demand. Pullman attorneys will be there to assist in moving forward the permitting and policy phases of this innovative offshore wind solution.
Pullman & Comley's attorneys were involved in a wide variety of cutting edge energy issues over the past year.
In an acquisition that combined New England's largest energy company with the region's largest energy company with the region's largest private water company, Eversource Energy completed an acquisition of Aquarion Water Company for a value of $1.675 billion.
Pullman & Comley has been front and center in a groundbreaking matter that has far-reaching implications for the water, electric and natural gas industries – as well as public utilities in general.
Clean Feet Investors is a Connecticut- based investment fund dedicated to investing in green energy projects. Our attorneys were retained by Clean Feet to assist in its investment activity.
With its proximity to New York and Boston, high standard of living and talented workforce, Connecticut is an attractive state for international companies looking to land in the United States.
Pullman & Comley was selected as counsel to NuPower Thermal in the development of its district heating loop in downtown Bridgeport, a first-of-its-kind project in the United States that capture waste heat as an alternative energy source.
The Connecticut Supreme Court unanimously agreed with the position of our Energy and Regulatory attorneys that the state’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) lacked jurisdiction to resolve a contractual pricing dispute between our client, Kleen Energy Systems, and Connecticut Light and Power (now known as Eversource Energy).
Following passage of a new law granting rate recognition for water companies that acquire small troubled water systems, our Regulatory team represented Aquarion in obtaining an award of $10 million for its acquisition and modernization of more than 50 such water systems.
Our attorneys were involved with two key projects that are part of “BGreen 2020,” a plan to improve the environmental quality and livability of Bridgeport’s parks, waterways and streets and to promote Bridgeport as a location for the development of green industries and green employment.
