Application To Rescind Presidential Permit; Application for Presidential Permit; Versant Power, 21712-21713 [2021-08498]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 77 (Friday, April 23, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21712-21713]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-08498]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[OE Docket No. PP-12-1]


Application To Rescind Presidential Permit; Application for 
Presidential Permit; Versant Power

AGENCY: Office of Electricity, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of application.

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SUMMARY: Versant Power (formerly Emera Maine, legacy of Maine Public 
Service Company) has filed an application to effect a voluntary 
transfer of Presidential Permit No. PP-12 to its name, via the 
Department of Energy's (DOE) rescission and simultaneous reissuance of 
the permit. Versant Power owns the facilities authorized for cross-
border electric power transmission by Presidential Permit No. PP-12. 
The named permittee is Maine Public Service Company, which became Emera 
Maine following a corporate merger on January 1, 2014, but without a 
concurrent change to the name on the permit. As a result of another 
corporate transaction in March 2020, Emera Maine's parent company came 
under new ownership; Emera Maine was required to change its name and 
became Versant Power. The application therefore requests that DOE 
rescind Presidential Permit No. PP-12 and simultaneously issue a 
permit, in Versant Power's name, covering the same international 
transmission facilities.

DATES: Comments, protests, or motions to intervene must be submitted on 
or before May 24, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Comments or motions to intervene should be addressed to 
Christopher Lawrence, [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Lawrence (Program Office) 
at 202-586-5260 or by email to [email protected], or 
Christopher Drake (Attorney-Adviser) at 202-586-2919 or by email to 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The construction, operation, maintenance, 
and connection of facilities at the international border of the United 
States for the transmission of electric energy between the United 
States and a foreign country is prohibited in the absence of a 
Presidential permit issued pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 10485, as 
amended by E.O. 12038.
    On October 7, 2020, Versant Power filed an application with the 
Office of Electricity of the Department of Energy (DOE), as required by 
regulations at 10 CFR 205.320 et seq., requesting that DOE rescind and 
reissue Presidential Permit No. PP-12 to reflect Versant Power's 
ownership of the permitted facilities. The facilities authorized by 
Presidential Permit No. PP-12, as amended, include two 69-kilovolt 
transmission lines connecting to facilities at the international border 
between Maine, U.S.A. and New Brunswick, Canada. DOE regulations at 10 
CFR 205.323 prohibit the voluntary transfer or assignment of a 
Presidential permit absent an application for a new permit.
    On January 3, 1948, President Truman issued Presidential Permit No. 
PP-12, authorizing Maine Public Service Company (Maine Public) to 
construct, operate, maintain, and connect the facilities described 
above. By order of the Federal Power Commission, the permit was amended 
on December 5, 1963. On November 29, 2012, Maine Public and Bangor 
Hydro Electric Company (Bangor Hydro) submitted a filing with the Maine 
Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) requesting approval of a merger 
between Maine Public and Bangor Hydro, both of which were indirect 
subsidiaries of Emera Incorporated. On March 19, 2013, Bangor Hydro and 
Maine Public filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (FERC), under Section 203 of the Federal Power Act, seeking 
authorization for the merger of Bangor Hydro and Maine Public. On July 
18, 2013, FERC issued an order authorizing the proposed merger. On 
December 17, 2013, the MPUC conditionally approved the corporate merger 
of Bangor Hydro and Maine Public. Emera Maine became the surviving 
corporation following the merger of Bangor Hydro and Maine Public on 
January 1, 2014. Following the merger, Emera Maine remained an indirect 
subsidiary of Emera Incorporated.
    On December 30, 2013, prior to the merger of Maine Public and 
Bangor Hydro, the two companies jointly filed with the Department an 
application to rescind PP-12 and to reissue that permit in the name of 
Emera Maine. Maine Public and Bangor Hydro requested that the issuance 
of the permit be made effective upon the merger of the companies, which 
occurred on January 1, 2014. That application was noticed in the 
Federal Register on April 22, 2014. However, the Department has taken 
no action on the application, and Presidential Permit PP-12 remains in 
Maine Public's name.
    On March 24, 2020, ENMAX Corporation (ENMAX) indirectly acquired 
from Emera Inc. all interests in BHE Holdings Inc. (BHE Holdings), a 
Delaware corporation and the parent company of Emera Maine. More 
specifically, under the terms of the sale, Emera Inc.'s equity 
interests in BHE Holdings were sold to 3456 Inc., a wholly-owned 
indirect subsidiary of ENMAX. As a result, ENMAX now indirectly 
controls 100 percent of BHE Holdings. BHE Holdings was the direct and 
sole parent company of Emera Maine. Under the terms of the sale, Emera 
Maine was required to change its name. Thus, Emera Maine announced in 
May 2020 that it had been renamed Versant Power. As a result of this 
change, Versant is requesting that the Presidential permit issued to 
Maine Public be transferred, via rescission and reissuance, to Versant 
Power.
    Procedural Matters: Any person may comment on this application by 
filing such comment at the address provided above. Any person seeking 
to become a

[[Page 21713]]

party to this proceeding must file a motion to intervene at the address 
provided above in accordance with Rule 214 of FERC's Rules of Practice 
and Procedure (18 CFR 385.214). Two (2) copies of each comment or 
motion to intervene should be filed with DOE on or before the date 
listed above.
    Comments and other filings concerning this application should be 
clearly marked with OE Docket No. PP-12-1. Additional copies are to be 
provided directly to Philip C. Smith, Corporate Counsel, Versant Power, 
P.O. Box 932, Bangor, ME 04401-0932, [email protected] and 
Bonnie A. Suchman, Suchman Law LLC, 8104 Paisley Place, Potomac, 
Maryland 20854, [email protected].
    Before a Presidential permit may be issued or amended, DOE must 
find that the proposed action is consistent with the public interest. 
In making that determination, DOE will consider the environmental 
impacts of the proposed action (i.e., granting the Presidential permit 
or amendment, with any conditions and limitations, or denying the 
permit), evaluate the project's impact on electric reliability by 
ascertaining whether the proposed project would adversely affect the 
operation of the U.S. electric power supply system under normal and 
contingency conditions, and weigh any other factors that DOE may also 
consider relevant to the public interest. DOE also must obtain the 
favorable recommendation of the Secretary of State and the Secretary of 
Defense before taking final action on a Presidential permit 
application.
    This application may be reviewed or downloaded electronically at 
https://energy.gov/oe/services/electricity-policy-coordination-and-implementation/international-electricity-regulatio-2. Upon reaching the 
home page, select ``Pending Applications.''

    Signed in Washington, DC, on April 19, 2021.
Christopher Lawrence,
Management and Program Analyst, Energy Resilience Division, Office of 
Electricity.
[FR Doc. 2021-08498 Filed 4-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P