With his extensive and broad practice in the energy industry, Peter Nelson leads Norton Gledhill’s team of energy lawyers in their many fields of advisory and transaction-based commercial and government legal work.
Peter’s dedication to the energy industry is recognised in Doyle’s Guide to the Australian Legal Profession, published in July 2010, where, among the top 30 dedicated electricity lawyers in Australia, Peter is included as one of only five in their ‘Preeminent’ class.
Doyle’s Guide says:
Norton Gledhill’s Peter Nelson was viewed, both locally and nationally, as “brilliant” and “an outstandingly hardworking lawyer”. Nelson’s unrivalled focus on the electricity sector resulted in others noting he had “the deepest understanding of the historical development of energy regulation in Australia” and “an encyclopaedic knowledge of the NEM rules”. Nelson was also widely viewed as one of the country’s leading lights within the area of climate change and electricity derivatives.
Our own clients say:
Peter Nelson is “probably the best lawyer in Australia on … electricity”. He is highly accessible and is responsive to client needs. Peter provides strong communication, exceptional responsiveness, rapid turnaround times and is very commercial …
Peter is complimented on the “timeliness” of his advice, “reasonable level of charges” ... and for having “developed a reputation in the energy industry as a solicitor with immense knowledge and skills of the market, legislation and commercial arrangements”.
Under Peter’s leadership Norton Gledhill is included in Doyle’s Guide in the Second Tier of Australia’s leading electricity firms (only two of the national firms are included in the First Tier). In the Australasian Legal Business Guide: Energy & Resources Law 2009, Norton Gledhill is recognised as a ‘Leading Firm’ in Melbourne.
Our Energy practice covers:
Administrative Law
Advising on:
- the exercise of power by government and governmental authorities
- challenges to price determinations and other regulatory decisions
- dispute management procedures for government and governmental authorities.
Carbon
Advising on:
- the proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
- national greenhouse and energy reporting
- documentation for trading in Australian and European emissions permits
- mechanisms for passing on carbon costs
- greenhouse gas abatement measures
- energy efficiency schemes
- planning and environmental laws.
Competition and Trade Practices Law
Advising on:
- consumer protection and fair trading issues, particularly in the full retail competition context
- infrastructure access arrangements
- restrictive trade practices
- ring-fencing.
Corporate Advisory
Advising on:
- financial services laws including applications for financial services licences
- insider trading
- risk management
- anti-money laundering
- compliance
- privacy and preparation of privacy policies.
Energy
Advising on and preparing documents for:
- electricity derivatives and reallocations
- ISDA master agreements
- power purchase agreements
- trading of environmental products including RECs, NGACs, GECs and green power
- supply arrangements for large industrial customers including smelters and paper mills
- off-take agreements for renewable energy power stations
- connection and use of system agreements
- metering agreements and regulation
- compliance with the National Electricity Rules
- applications for accreditation under MRET and VRET
- applications for retail licences
- retailers’ terms for electricity and gas sale agreements.
Government
Advising on and preparing documents for:
- national reforms to the energy industry
- long term retail tariff arrangements between government and energy retailers
- legislation and regulations in the electricity and gas industries
- the Victorian Renewable Energy Target and Victorian Energy Efficiency Target schemes
- feed-in tariff schemes for renewable energy generators
- licensing regimes
- electricity, gas and water price determinations
- voluntary industry codes of conduct.
Insolvency and Reconstruction
Advising creditors and debtors interested in the following corporate collapses:
- Enron
- Lehman Brothers.
Litigation and ADR
Acting in:
- access disputes
- the commercial resolution of contractual disputes
- court proceedings, arbitration and expert determination
- price reviews under long term power purchase and gas supply agreements
- defence of prosecutions by energy industry regulators.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Acting in mergers and acquisition transactions in the energy industry:
- due diligence
- acquisitions and disposals of businesses and companies
- joint ventures
- vertical integration
- regulatory issues raised by mergers.