Energy and Utilities

Our Practice - What We Do
Snell & Wilmer’s Energy and Utilities practice dates back from the founding of the firm in the 1930s, when we assisted in combining a number of small electric utilities into what is now the largest electric utility in Arizona-Arizona Public Service (APS). Today, we are involved in the siting and construction of energy infrastructure, including conventional power plants, renewable resources, and extra-high voltage transmission lines. Our attorneys represent public and private entities in many types of transactions related to the utility industry. Most specifically, we are regularly called upon to assist with purchased power agreements, line extension agreements, special contracts, engineering procurement and construction agreements, and asset purchase and sale agreements. We continue to represent all of our utility clients in traditional regulatory matters including rate case proceedings, contested regulatory hearings, rulemakings, and utility-related litigation.

Areas of particular focus in our Electric Power practice include:

• State Regulation - including rate cases, fuel or purchased power adjustment clauses, contract approvals, certificate proceedings, authorization for asset sales, implementation of state regulations, special contracts, and other typical regulatory matters
• Legislative support - including oversight and legislative strategy regarding laws and bills relating to energy restructuring, tax policy, renewable resources, municipal utilities and public power, and facilities site
• State restructuring - including rulemaking proceedings involving retail and wholesale electric competition, stranded cost resolution, competitive bidding for power supplies, affiliate codes of conduct, and electric service provider interface issues
• Renewable energy resources - including rulemakings regarding environmental portfolio standards, development and siting of renewable energy projects, contract negotiations for renewable energy projects, integrated resource planning, and demand side management
• Transmission and interconnection issues - including regulatory assistance in evaluating reliability must-run generation issues, transmission assessments, transmission infrastructure siting and development, construction and interconnection issues, and tax issues associated with contributions in aid of construction
• Utility finance - including preparing and litigating applications for financing authority, evaluating regulatory issues associated with utility financing, negotiating and documenting public and private bonds, note, debenture and stock issuances, negotiating and documenting credit facilities, commercial paper facilities, pollution control bonds transactions, sale leaseback transactions, and other financing vehicles, and addressing holding company finance and securities issues

Our Attorneys - Who We Are
The focus of our attorneys is a broad-based interdisciplinary practice, extending across virtually every aspect of the utility industry - from rate cases and other regulatory proceedings to complex financings and commercial transactions to business strategy and legislative support. Our attorneys not only understand the legal aspect of providing utility service but also the important technical and commercial nuances. Such knowledge and experience is critical in these dynamic times of restructuring, competition, and regulatory changes in the utility industry.

Our Clients - Who We Represent
The Energy and Utilities practice represents clients in cutting-edge matters relating to the restructuring of the electric industry. We represent large utilities, small utilities, tribal entities, energy service companies, and customers in energy regulatory and policy matters in the Southwest.

Our Experience - What We've Done

• Generating Facility - siting, procurement and construction of a 2,100 MW generating facility west of Phoenix
• Merchant Power Plant - 20-mile double-circuit 500 kV interconnection line for a new 2400 MW merchant power plant that included environmental assessment from the Bureau of Land Management
• Substations - 30-mile double-circuit 230 kV project with three new substations in the metropolitan Phoenix area to improve the utility’s load serving capability
• Arizona Power Plant - siting and constructing of a 550 MW power plant in Arizona and negotiation of off-take agreement for plant’s output with municipal utility
• Utah Power Plant – negotiation of acquisition agreement for plant site, water rights, air quality credits and assist with permitting associated with construction of 550 MW power plant
• Energy Clients - joint plant or joint transmission projects for energy clients in Arizona, Utah and Nevada
• Solar Power - negotiation of a renewable energy purchase and sale agreement under which a public utility will purchase all of the energy produced by a 280 MW solar trough power plant with thermal storage capabilities for a period of 30 years