WWW.LEXPERT.CA
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2018
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LEXPERT 41
Spencer, David A. Bennett Jones LLP
(403) 298-2054 spencerd@bennettjones.com
Mr. Spencer advises on mergers & acquisitions, corporate finance
and corporate governance matters. His work includes representing Repsol
in its acquisition of Talisman Energy, Flint Energy Services in its acquisition
by URS Corporation, and a large TSX-listed oil & gas producer in connection
with a successful unsolicited take-over defence. He is a director of Parkland
Fuel Corporation.
Spector, Charles R. Dentons Canada LLP
(514) 878-8847 charles.spector@dentons.com
Mr. Spector's wide-ranging transactional practice includes a focus on
energy, and oil & gas. His expertise embraces public and private corporate
and project financing, including private power project financing, M&A,
and corporate governance.
Sonshine, Aaron E. Bennett Jones LLP
(416) 777-6448 sonshinea@bennettjones.com
Mr. Sonshine practises corporate and securities law with particular emphasis
on corporate finance, M&A, private equity and corporate governance matters.
He has substantial cross-border and domestic experience in the mining and
power & utilities sectors, among others. He is a member of the Ontario Bar
Association, the Canadian Bar Association and the PDAC.
Smith, QC, Lawrence E. (Laurie) Bennett Jones LLP
(403) 298-3315 smithl@bennettjones.com
Mr. Smith acts for utilities, pipeline/LNG/offshore projects before federal/pro-
vincial regulators and has appeared before federal/provincial appellate courts
and the SCC. He is former counsel to the National Energy Board; a former
federal ministerial policy advisor; and has testified as an expert witness
in a NAF TA Chapter 11 arbitration.
Smellie, James H. Gowling WLG
(403) 298-1816 james.smellie@gowlingwlg.com
Mr. Smellie focuses on energy regulatory matters, administrative law
and litigation. He has extensive experience as counsel for oil & gas clients
before the National Energy Board, Alberta Utilities Commission and other
provincial regulatory tribunals. In electricity matters, he has been regulatory
counsel on behalf of Alberta's Independent System Operator and for other
market participants.
Skelton, Christopher R. Bennett Jones LLP
(403) 298-3309 skeltonc@bennettjones.com
Mr. Skelton is a partner in Bennett Jones' Calgary office and a member of the
firms Oil & Gas and Private Equity groups. His practice relates primarily to
commercial transactions, with a focus on private investments and acquisi-
tions, and project joint ventures, construction and procurement.
LEXPERT-RANKED LAWYERS
omas Hwang, Senior Legal Counsel, and ex-
ternally by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
with a team consisting of Jake Sadikman, Dan
Kolibar, Marissa Kirsh, Adrian Hartog, Wendy
Kao, Suzanne Herceg and Shuli Rodal.
One group of institutional lenders providing
the credit facilities was represented by McCarthy
Tétrault LLP with a team consisting of Stephen
Furlan, Lynn Parsons, Mary-Jeanne Phelan, Ja-
cob Stone, Christopher Zawadzki, William Mc-
Cullough, David Woollcombe, Heloise Apeste-
guy-Reux and Joanna Rosengarten and another
group of institutional lenders was represented by
Stikeman Elliott LLP with a team consisting of
Sterling Dietze and Guillaume Blais.
ALBERTA 500KV POWER
TRANSMISSION LINE PROJECT
REACHES FINANCIAL CLOSE
Alberta PowerLine is a partnership between
Canadian Utilities (an ATCO company) and
Quanta Services. Alberta PowerLine was select-
ed by the Alberta Electric System Operator (the
AESO) in December 2014 to design, build, own,
operate and finance the Fort McMurray West
500 kV Transmission Project.
Valued at $1.43 billion, the project consists of
approximately 500 kms of 500 kV transmission
line and associated facilities running from Wa-
bamun (west of Edmonton) to Fort McMurray.
Under the partnership, Valard Construction,
a Canadian subsidiary of Quanta, will pro-
vide turnkey EPC services for the project while
ATCO Electric, an ATCO company, will be re-
sponsible for route planning and operations and
maintenance of the transmission facilities for a
period of 35 years.
e proposed route, substations and design of
the transmission line were subject to approval by
the Alberta Utilities Commission, and approval
was received in February of 2017.
In early October 2017, Alberta PowerLine
completed a $1.38-billion four-tranche bond deal
to finance the Project.
e Project is unique in many respects, fea-
turing a two-stage process with the successful
proponent undertaking the land acquisition and
approvals process during a development period
prior to execution of the Project Agreement and
a debt funding competition.
Once the Project is in service, Alberta Power-
Line will receive availability payments from the
AESO that will cover operating, maintenance
and rehabilitation costs, debt service and equity
returns, with payments only subject to deduc-
tions for unavailability or non-performance.
e Project construction period commenced
in the summer of 2017 and is expected to con-
tinue for approximately 21 months.
