Philip M Small

Practice Areas

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL

LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION

REAL ESTATE

ENERGY TRANSITION

Career

Philip Small is the head of Brown Rudnick's U.S. Energy and Regulatory practice. Phil has over 40 years of wide-ranging commercial and litigation experience in energy, public utility, regulatory, environmental, construction, and other field of law. His energy and public utility law experience includes siting and permitting, development, financing, acquisition, sales, and purchases of renewable (solar, wind, hydro, biomass, and fuel cell) and conventional electric generating facilities; engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts; interconnection, equipment sales, and O&M agreements; wholesale and retail energy purchase and sales agreements; major commercial energy transactions, administrative, appellate and trial court litigation, and utility ratemaking. His environmental law experience includes air, hazardous waste, water litigation, enforcement, permitting, siting, and counseling. His construction experience includes negotiating construction contracts and representing parties in construction disputes.

Phil represents electric, gas, and other utilities, project developers and owners, exempt wholesale generators, natural gas pipelines, equipment manufacturers and vendors, retail utility suppliers and customers, and transportation and manufacturing companies in a wide variety of federal and state energy regulatory, administrative litigation, and commercial matters, and in environmental counseling, litigation, and enforcement matters.

Prior to joining Brown Rudnick, Phil was assistant general counsel for Northeast Utilities, where he was the primary attorney responsible for all environmental law matters and for significant public utility regulatory matters.

Professional Memberships

Chair, Public Utility Section of the Connecticut Bar Association (2004-2006) and Member, Environmental Section

American Bar Association (Sections of Environmental, Energy and Resources; and Public Utility, Communications and Transportation Law)

Energy Bar Association

Work Highlights

Successfully represented The Connecticut Light and Power Company (CL&P) in extended litigation that culminated in Second Circuit and Connecticut Supreme Court rulings that CL&P owned the renewable energy credits received by qualifying facilities with whom it had long-term energy purchase agreements.

Represented CPV Towantic LLC in obtaining Connecticut Siting Council approval for a 785-megawatt combined cycle electric generating facility, and successfully defending that approval against a Connecticut Supreme Court challenge.

Successfully defended an energy company in an AAA arbitration proceeding against an over $33 million damage claim for alleged breaches of an operating and maintenance agreement.

Successfully defended Iroquois Gas Pipeline Company in a lawsuit involving environmental claims involved in a real-estate transaction.

Obtained a favorable settlement through mediation for the National Railway Passenger Association (Amtrak) in a federal district court case involving federal and state law claims related to PCB contamination.

Represented Vineyard Wind in negotiating long-term power purchase agreements with Connecticut’s two electric companies for its proposed 805-megawatt offshore windfarm and obtained state regulatory approval of those agreements.

Obtained Connecticut regulatory approval for the approximately $1.1 billion acquisition by SJW Group of Connecticut Water Service, Inc.

Obtained Connecticut Siting Council approvals for renewable energy developers including SolarCity, Brightfields, Bloom Energy, and Quantum Biopower.

Represented numerous renewable energy developers in siting, permitting contract negotiations, financing, acquisition, and sales of solar and other renewable energy projects.

Represented renewable energy customers and hosts in negotiating power purchase agreements, leases, and other agreements.

Represents energy service companies in regulatory and contractual matters, including negotiation of shared savings energy service contracts and of contracts to install cogeneration units and in related contract disputes.

Obtained favorable settlements for the City of Meriden, Connecticut of administrative and state court litigation with NRG Energy of disputes involving a property tax agreement, decommissioning of a large power plant, and the transfer of 400 acres of land to the City.

Represented a large manufacturing company in negotiating shared savings energy service agreements and agreements to purchase and sell renewable energy credits (RECs). Obtained first state regulatory approval for the use of out-of-state RECs in Connecticut.

Negotiated and obtained FERC approval of numerous electrical interconnection agreements and transmission facility construction agreements for independent power producers and for electric utilities. Obtained favorable settlements and FERC decisions for project developers and utilities in FERC interconnection agreement disputes.

Represented project developers in negotiating engineering, procurement, and construction contacts and other equipment supply and construction contracts for wind farms in Brazil and in Scotland.

Represented an interstate gas pipeline in state siting and permitting proceedings and federal district court litigation.

Represented the owner of a large electric generating facility in multiple state siting proceedings involving proposed merchant electric transmission cables crossing Long Island Sound. Subsequently, represented a separate merchant transmission developer.

Served as national energy counsel for a distributed generation equipment manufacturer.

Education