[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 77 (Friday, April 23, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21713-21714]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-08501]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[OE Docket No. PP-89-3]


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 and Bangor Hydro-Electric Company) has filed an 
application to effect a voluntary transfer of Presidential Permit No. 
PP-89-2 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-89-2. The named permittee is Bangor Hydro-
Electric Company (Bangor Hydro), 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-89-2 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-89-2 to reflect Versant Power's 
ownership of the permitted facilities. The facilities authorized by 
Presidential Permit No. PP-89-2, as amended, include one 345-kilovolt 
alternating current electric transmission line originating at a 
substation (now owned by Versant Power) and extending to the U.S. 
international border with Canada near Baileyville, Maine. 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 22, 1996, DOE issued Presidential Permit No. PP-89, 
authorizing Bangor Hydro to construct, operate, maintain, and connect 
the facilities described above. The permit was amended on December 30, 
2005, and again on December 18, 2009. On November 29, 2012, Maine 
Public Service Company (Maine Public) and 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-89 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-89 remains in 
Bangor Hydro'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

[[Page 21714]]

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 Bangor Hydro 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-89-3. 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 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. 2021-08501 Filed 4-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P