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The Firm's energy lawyers provide a wide range of legal services to large energy-related companies and public authorities, including electric and natural gas firms. We provide counseling and advice and represent such firms before state regulatory agencies, state and federal courts, and arbitration panels. Our services involve many practice areas, in particular: - Utility Regulatory Proceedings and Strategy
- Litigation, Arbitration, and Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Legislative and Executive Branch Lobbying and Government Relations
- Local Government Relations (e.g. counties, municipalities)
- Siting, Permitting and Obtaining State Leases For Linear Facilities (e.g., Power Lines, Pipelines)
- Contract Negotiations
- Tax, Corporate, and Securities
- Real Estate
- Land Use
- Environmental
- Alternative Energy Sources (e.g. BioFuels)
- Eminent Domain
- Employment
Regulatory, Litigation, and Arbitration Representation of Regulated Utilities and Public Authorities. Our attorneys appear regularly before the Florida Public Service Commission (“FPSC”) in a variety of dockets, including, for example, investigations of regulated utilities, proceedings to determine the need for new power plants, prudence reviews, and other matters. In this connection, our attorneys interact on a regular basis with FPSC technical and legal staff. Carlton Fields has handled numerous related court cases, as well, involving judicial review of FPSC actions, rule challenges, Public Records Act litigation, and other proceedings involving matters within the FPSC’s areas of concern. Our attorneys have also represented public utilities and public authorities in litigation in federal and state courts in Florida, in arbitrations, and in other means of alternative dispute resolution. Representative Client/Industries.
- Investor Owned Electric Utilities
- Public Authorities
- Natural Gas Supply Companies
Representative Matters. Representative matters handled by our Energy Group include: - Defense of contract claims in federal and state litigation involving waste to energy management agreements;
Handling “full requirements” electric utility rates cases before the FPSC; Prosecuting utility claims for, and recovery of, hundreds of millions of dollars incurred to prepare for, respond to, and recover from the 2004 hurricanes (known as “storm cost recovery” proceedings); Defending electric utility against claim for $143 million refund for allegedly imprudent coal procurement decisions in proceeding resulting in four-day evidentiary hearing; Obtaining determinations of need for three state-of-the-art, combined-cycle electric power plants in three separate need determination proceedings and for the expansion of a nuclear facility as a result of the largest power uprate in the state; Defense of lawsuits brought by various individuals, local governments, and conservation groups opposing the siting and construction of a major electric transmission line; Prosecution of lawsuits to invalidate local government efforts to alter the route of, or prevent the construction of, transmission lines; Representing the owner-utility in major construction litigation and product defect litigation over a nuclear powered generating facility; Representing the utility in major FPSC “prudence review” proceedings arising out of operational outages of a nuclear powered generating facility; Defense of litigation in which local governments sought to compel electric utilities to place all electric distribution lines underground at utility expense; Litigation involving electric utility disputes with cogenerator operators; Representing a retail load serving electric utility in several contested cases before the FPSC, and ultimately in the Florida Supreme Court, involving efforts by "merchant" plant developers to site plants in Florida ; Advocating utility positions in an FPSC workshop concerning possible modifications to the FPSC’s bidding rule; Representing utility interests in an investigation into the adequacy of reserve margins in Florida; Defending court actions by municipalities regarding disputes over franchise agreements with the public utility; Representing a public utility and an affiliated telecommunications company in class action litigation over the right to use electric utility transmission line easements for telecommunications purposes; Handling numerous, multi-week arbitration proceedings to establish the value of electric utility electric distribution systems and to establish the entitlement to, and amount of, “stranded costs” associated with the sale of such facilities under FERC Order No. 888; Defending breach of contract and other claims by cogeneration facilities on behalf of the public utility.
Siting, Permitting, and Obtaining State Leases For Linear Facilities. Carlton Fields' attorneys have experience representing companies seeking to site linear facilities in the State of Florida. Representative matters include: - Representing owners of linear facilities, such as gas pipelines, in obtaining State leases and permits for such linear facilities, including sub-aqueous facilities.
- Ongoing representation of LNG gas supplier in all aspects of permitting of pipeline at state, local, and federal levels, including submerged and terrestial portions of pipeline.
Contract Negotiations. Carlton Fields’ energy lawyers have extensive experience in negotiating a broad array of contracts on behalf of its energy clients. Environmental Permitting. Carlton Fields advises energy clients in all manner of environmental permitting, both with respect to new construction and ongoing maintenance activities. This advice involves application of both state and federal environmental laws including, but not limited to: state power plant siting acts, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, federal and state wetlands, tidelands and river protection acts, the Endangered Species Act, and pollution and hazardous waste requirements. Project Development. Clients have relied on Carlton Fields in various phases of power plant project development, including negotiation of power purchase agreements, development stage analysis, facility siting, environmental and labor issues, project finance, EPC contracting, and downstream operations. Development of Regulatory Strategy. The anticipated restructuring of the electric industry has created a need for energy clients to begin strategizing for the future. Carlton Fields’ energy lawyers routinely provide counseling and advice to Firm clients contemplating their role in a competitive energy environment. This advice has ranged from the evaluation of tax consequences, to the development of strategies designed to ensure the viability of rural electric cooperatives, and consideration of new opportunities for power brokers/marketers. Legislative Lobbying. Carlton Fields’ Government Law Practice Group is available to provide the Firm’s energy-related clients with legislative representation, if needed. Labor and Employment. Carlton Fields' litigation attorneys help resolve disputes including construction defects, property damage, personal injury, breach of contract, and worker safety under OSHA. Tax Matters. Our tax attorneys have experience with utility/energy entities in the area of state sales taxes and ad valorem taxes.
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