[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 77 (Friday, April 23, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21710-21711]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-08500]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[OE Docket No. PP-29-3]


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-29-3 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-29-3. 
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-29-2 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-29-2 to reflect Versant Power's 
ownership of the permitted facilities. The facilities authorized by 
Presidential Permit No. PP-29-2, as amended, include one three-phase 
138-kilovolt, 60 hertz transmission line located at the International 
Border between Maine, U.S.A. and New Brunswick; and two three-phase 69-
kilovolt, 60 hertz transmission lines located 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 September 18, 1957, the Federal Power Commission issued 
Presidential Permit No. PP-29, authorizing Maine Public Service Company 
(Maine Public) to construct, operate, maintain, and connect the 
facilities described above, prior to their modification. By order of 
the Federal Power Commission, the permit was amended on March 22, 1968. 
By order of the Department of Energy, the permit was amended a second 
time on December 11, 1978. 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-29 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 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-29-3. 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

[[Page 21711]]

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 
http://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. 2021-08500 Filed 4-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P