Power and utilities

We are one of the few global legal practices that can offer our clients in the power and utilities sector a true ‘cradle to grave’ service. Our services don’t stop when a project has been built - we work with our clients every day, providing advice on the full spectrum of legal issues including commercial law, tax, employment, environmental and safety, disposals, trading, emergency response, dispute resolution, arbitration and decommissioning.

Our experience in the power sector has been gained by advising on all aspects of the development of the electricity industry, its diversity reflecting the changes in the sector through privatization, new models of regulation and financing, and increasing internationalization. Likewise, we continue to be at the cutting edge of new developments in nuclear, gas, coal and oil-fired power in both existing and emerging markets.

We maintain a strong nuclear practice in which we offer legal advice in all aspects of the nuclear cycle including feasibility studies for the development of new nuclear stations, new build (construction and financing), operational issues, uranium mining, fuel fabrication, transportation and supply, waste management and disposal, and decommissioning.

We never underestimate the challenges that ‘country first’ projects present which is why our team is highly skilled, experienced and knowledgeable at dealing with such innovative transactions.

Our areas of work include

• Antitrust and competition law, including state aid advice
• Commercial and regulatory issues
• Construction and engineering, including Operations & Maintenance (O&M)
• Corporate advice including M&A and equity capital markets
• Debt finance, including debt capital markets and project finance
• Decommissioning
• Demand-side response and balancing services
• Digitization including data protection, privacy and cybersecurity, and the application of new technologies such as blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies
• Dispute resolution and litigation, including alternative dispute resolution (ADR), arbitration and mediation
• Energy efficiency
• Energy storage, including pumped hydro and battery storage
• Environmental law, including feasibility studies, permitting, land use and waste disposal
• Fuel supply and transportation
• Hydrogen
• Intellectual property, including patents
• Investor-owned utilities, municipal utilities, statutory electricity providers and commercial plants
• Networks, including electricity interconnectors and heat networks
• Nuclear
• Offtake arrangements including power purchase agreements (PPAs), carbon and power trading
• Public and government finance, including export credit agency
• Risk advisory, including sanctions and export controls, and human rights
• Tax
• Thermal power, including gas, coal and oil

Awards and accolades

• Chambers Global, Global-wide: Projects & Energy, Chambers and Partners, 2020
• Chambers Global, Global-wide: Projects & Energy: Power, Chambers and Partners, 2020