Brendan H. Connors

Brendan H. Connors is an attorney in Holland & Knight's Washington, D.C., office. Mr. Connors counsels various entities within the power industry – including electric utilities and transmission developers, oil and natural gas companies, renewable energy project developers and clean energy technology startups – concerning their regulatory, litigation and transactional needs.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

Mr. Connors focuses his practice primarily in counseling entities in their interactions with FERC. His practice encompasses:

• representing clients in adjudicatory proceedings and rulemakings before FERC, including the litigation of wholesale rates and other tariff issues
• advising clients on their compliance obligations under the Federal Power Act (FPA), Natural Gas Act (NGA), Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), Natural Gas Policy Act (NGPA), Interstate Commerce Act (ICA) and Public Utility Holding Company Act (PUHCA)
• filing applications and certifications for market-based rate authority, Exempt Wholesale Generator (EWG) status under PUHCA, Qualifying Facility (QF) status under PURPA, and FERC authorization for utility-related mergers, acquisitions and sales under Section 203 of the FPA
• representing clients in their relations with regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs), including issues related to organized wholesale capacity and energy markets, cost allocation and resource adequacy
• negotiating power purchase, interconnection, transmission and delivery point agreements, as well as joint ownership and operating agreements

In addition, Mr. Connors represents clients in challenging adverse FERC determinations in federal appellate courts.

Federal Financing

Mr. Connors also assists clients in obtaining various forms of financing offered by the federal government and its private sector partners.

He advises diverse energy companies – including those involved with biofuels, advanced materials, batteries and hydrogen – in securing financing from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) for Advanced Fossil Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) projects. He also assists energy clients with obtaining funding from the DOE and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) under programs established by the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Before entering private practice, Mr. Connors served as a law clerk to the Honorable Virginia E. Hopkins of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.