Stuart A. Caplan

Partner

Stuart Caplan has more than 20 years of experience in the energy industry and concentrates on electric and natural gas industry restructuring; renewable, fossil fuel and transmission project development; and the regulatory aspects of mergers and acquisitions.

Stuart has worked extensively with utilities in generator auctions producing proceeds in excess of US $3.5 billion and with bidders in several other auctions.

He has taken lead roles on creative transaction structures to enhance auction results and has effectively and timely secured federal transaction approvals.

He provides expert energy regulatory advice to lenders and investors and has worked on the following representative transactions:

• FPLE National Wind US $450 million bond financings (lead FERC counsel for underwriter).
• Ormat Technologies initial public offering (lead energy regulatory counsel for underwriter). A major wind project in the Southwest U.S. (counsel to the underwriter). The National Bank of Canada's underwriting of the acquisition of a fleet of hydroelectric generation assets.
• Counsel to an international energy company in connection with its proposed bid for Westinghouse. South Carolina Public Service Authority in its recent bid with Central Electric Cooperative to acquire an interest in the Catawaba Nuclear Generating Station operated by Duke Power.
• Legal advisor to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities' consultant in Exelon-PSE and G merger (US $13 billion). Hedge fund's acquisition of interests in Lake Road, La Paloma and Liberty generating project companies.
• MACH Gen transactions (lead regulatory counsel for four-station, 3,850 MW fleet). Joint venture to form Hess LNG (lead energy regulatory counsel for Amerada Hess). Lattice Group PLC's merger with National Grid (lead FERC counsel).
• Energy East acquisitions of Central Maine Power and Rochester Gas and Electric NYSEG's sale of Homer City Generating Station to Edison Mission Energy (US $1.8 billion). NYSEG's sale of New York coal fleet to AES (US $1.3 billion). Credit Suisse-First Boston - TXU transaction. Rochester Gas and Electric's sale of the R.E. Ginna Nuclear Generating Station.
• Barclays Bank (lead bank) and the lender syndicate US $520 million project financing of the Iroquois Gas Transmission System. Power Market Formation and Energy

Representative Experience

• Stuart is a leading legal expert on power market formation. He has counseled market participants on new market structures in markets throughout the U.S. East Coast and Southwest.
• He was lead counsel in developing the NY Independent System Operator (ISO) tariff and lead FERC counsel for the Arizona Independence Scheduling Administrator.
• Stuart also was involved in negotiating the formation of the New England regional transmission organization (RTO). 
• He advises clients on power market evolution and restructuring within the New England Power Pool, the NYISO, the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection, the Southeast and the Southwest.
• Stuart appears regularly before FERC and ISO committees and boards to press for market improvements.
• He has assisted power marketers and ESCOs with power, transmission and retail wheeling transactions and agreements.
• He was active in creating a multisector coalition in natural gas pipeline "comparable service" cases that led to the first "Mega-NOPR" and participated in many FERC natural gas pipeline cases.
• Stuart is active in advising clients on liquefied natural gas ("LNG") and related pipeline projects. SMD, RTOs and Standards of Conduct (Order No. 2004): Stuart participated in FERC proceedings on Standard Market Design (SMD) and RTOs and was a leading advocate in the Northeast RTO Mediation at FERC (RTO1-99) and in negotiating agreements to form the NYISO and RTO-New England.
• He has been on the cutting edge of electric reform since he led the Coalition for Economic Competition's legal efforts in FERC's Stranded Cost and Open Access proceedings (RM95-8 and RM94-7). The Coalition included eleven major energy companies.
• Stuart advises clients on Order No. 2004 compliance and has a wealth of experience in FERC's Standard of Conduct and Code of Conduct requirements and related waiver applications.
• Prior to joining SNR Denton, Stuart was an energy partner in the New York and Washington, DC, offices of White and Case.
• In addition, he has chaired the regulatory department of a leading public utility law boutique and holds leadership positions in the energy bar.

Honors and Awards

• Ranked in Chambers USA, Nationwide, Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation), 2011
• New York City Energy Law Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers, 2012 

Organizations

• Member, Board of Directors, Energy Bar Association. Chair, EBA Committee on Electric Utility Regulation, 2001.
• Chair, Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Committee on Energy, 1995-1997.
• Member, American Bar Association, Antitrust and Public Utilities, Telecommunications and Transportation Law Sections.

Publications

• Contributing author, Energy Antitrust Handbook, chapters on "Independent System Operators and Power Exchanges" and "Antitrust in the Context of Generation Divestiture, " American Bar Association Antitrust Section, Fall 2002.
• Editor, Report of the Committee on Electric Regulation, 22 Energy Law Journal 425, Fall 2001.
• Contributing author, Report of the Committee on Electric Regulation, section on Transmission Access and Pricing, 15 Energy Law Journal 505, 1994.

Presentations

• Speaker, American Bar Association Renewable Energy Conference, "Renewable Energy Development: the Interplay Among State Programs, FERC, and ISO/RTO Markets, " December 2005.
• Conference organizer, Energy Bar Association Northeast Chapter Meeting, New York, NY, June 2005.
• Conference organizer, Energy Bar Association Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, April 2005.
• Moderator, Energy Bar Association Fall Meeting, panel on "The Shifting Tides of Appellate Review of FERC Decisions," Washington, DC, November 2004.
• Speaker, EEI Strategic Issues Conference, "Liquefied Natural Gas:  Part of the U.S. Energy Solution?" Chicago, IL, September 2004.
• Testimony before the Council of New York on the New York Independent System Operator's Installed Capacity Market Restructuring, before the Committee on Environmental Protection, April 8, 2003.
• Moderator, Energy Bar Association Annual New York City Meeting, panel on Northeast Energy Market Developments, including FERC General Counsel Cynthia Marlette, March 2003.
• Panelist, EEI Strategic Issues Conference "FERC's Standard Market Design:  The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, "Chicago, IL, Fall 2002.
• Panelist, Energy Committee, Association of the Bar of the City of New York, presentation on Energy Sector Mergers and Acquisitions, December 2001.
• Panelist, "ISOs--When Is Regulatory Intervention Appropriate and the Future of Energy Markets?" State of New York Department of Public Service Law Department Annual Seminar, December 2000.

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