WHY VERRILL DANA LAW FIRM REPRESENTS BANGOR HYDRO

The following information is presented on the web page of the law firm that represents Bangor Hydro before the Maine PUC. When the peoples "law firm", the Office of the Public Advocate, says nothing during negotiations and "discussions" to challenge increasing rates and the utilities' justification for same, it is no wonder Maine has such high utility rates and businesses give a Thumb Down to doing business here.

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"William S. Harwood serves as Co-Chair of the firm's Energy Practice Group. He has devoted most of his 30 year career to representing public utilities before state and federal regulatory agencies. He has represented electric, gas, water and telecommunications companies in more than 50 major cases before the Maine Public Utilities Commission and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, including rate cases, prudence investigations, management audits, merger approvals, requests for certificates of public convenience and necessity and rulemaking proceedings. Bill counsels utilities on proactive strategies to both anticipate regulatory developments and efficiently manage the regulatory process.

Bill has been extensively involved in traditional rate setting issues, including CWIP in rate base, attrition, accounting orders and cost of capital. Bill has negotiated long-term alternative rate plans which include automatic inflation adjustments, service quality penalties, and recovery of mandated or exogenous costs. He has also negotiated numerous long-term special rate agreements between utilities and specific industrial consumers.

Bill was actively involved in the restructuring of the Maine electric utility industry, including representing utilities in the sale of their generating assets, recovery of stranded costs and providing standard offer (default) service. More recently Bill has represented developers of new transmission lines in securing Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity and wind developers in negotiating Interconnection Agreements and securing adequate transmission capacity for delivery of the output. Bill has served as Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Maine School of Law, teaching utilitiy regulation and administrative law.


PUBLICATIONS

Liability for Accidents at Construction Sites: "Do Water Districts Have Immunity," Journal of Maine Water Utilities Association, Vol. 88, 2009.
Co-Authored "Maine Regulation of Public Utilities," (2008).
Co-Authored: “Keep it Flowing: Basic Principles of Water Utility Interconnection Agreements,” Journal of the Maine Water Utilities Association, April 2005.
"Gun Control: State Versus Federal Regulation of Firearms," Maine Policy Review Vol. 11 No. 1 (2002).
"Codification of Maine Rules: An Idea Whose Time Has Come," Maine Bar Journal (March 1992).
Comment, "Liquidation Damages: A Comparison of the Common Law and the Uniform Commercial Code," 45 Ford. L. Review 1349 (1977).

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

Represented owner of hydro-electric facilities before FERC in defending claim by upstream owner for headwater benefits.

Represented 11 New England electric utilities in a dispute with the lead owner of a jointly owned generating unit.

Represented Canadian utility before FERC in dispute over restrictions in transmitting energy across international border.

Represented a water company in a five day jury trial in Superior Court to determine fair value of the company’s assets taken by eminent domain.

Represented the developer of a proposed 80 mile 345 kV transmission line.

Represented a Maine electric utility before Maine Supreme Judicial Court in appellate review of a PUC decision approving creation of an unregulated marketing affiliate.

Represented the developer of high pressure natural gas pipeline across Maine.

Arbitrated a dispute between two New England utilities involving rights to a jointly owned generating unit.

Represented a real estate developer before Maine Supreme Judicial Court in dispute over water utility system development charge.

Represented consortium of environmental advocacy groups before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in its efforts to force removal of a hydro-electric facility.

REPRESENTATIVE CLIENTS

Aliant
Bangor Hydro-Electric Company
Biddeford & Saco Water Company
Central Vermont Public Service Corp.
Community Service Telephone
Emera Energy Services, Inc.
Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, LLC
National Grid
New Brunswick Power Corp.
Portland Water District "

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To add to the ongoing pain, Governor LePage's nominee to become the new PUC Chairman is Mr. Welsh, a member of the PUC in the 90s and who advocated then (and now) for Bangor Hydro's generating power sources to be sold. In today's Portland Sentinel it was reported the Legislative Committee has approved this nomination 13-0, all the while Mr. Welsh states the $750 million dollar sale was beneficial to Maine ratepayers. (Which ones, Mr. Welsh?)

Interesting to note that Emera, the Canadian corporation which bought Bangor Hydro, assumed none of the utility's past or current debt and continues to issue Bangor Hydro stock (traded on the NYSE).

While Maine residential customers continue to be screwed, we can thank people like Mr. Welsh for being one of many screw drivers.

Strange how Governor LePage can't seem to find any commissioners for the state who didn't have the same jobs back in the 1990s. Yogi Bera time - "deja vu all over again." This is "people before politics"? A one-term governor is all we need of this one.