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Chris Browne
LLB BA(Econ) • Wellington
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Chris is an energy sector law specialist, with a particular focus on the electricity industry.
Through his work for Transpower, distributors, large electricity consumers and generators, Chris has a thorough understanding of the commercial, regulatory and technical/operational aspects of the electricity industry.
He acts for clients in large renewable generation and load electrification projects and assists with negotiating and drafting a wide range of agreements in that context, including investment, connection, use of-system, and power purchase agreements (virtual and physical).
On the regulatory side, Chris is well versed in the Commerce Commission’s economic regulation of Transpower and distributors, the Electricity Industry Participation Code, and the Electricity Authority’s processes (including Code enforcement processes).
Prior to joining Simpson Grierson, Chris was Deputy General Counsel at Transpower and part of Transpower’s in-house legal team for 14 years.
Work Highlights
Transpower
- drafting Transpower’s template IT procurement and customer works agreements
- drafting and negotiating several IT system development and support contracts for Transpower, including for managed services for Transpower’s critical business systems, and procurement/licensing of core Market System, SCADA system and HVDC Pole 3 controls
- legal support for in-market testing of HVDC Pole 3
- advising on the South Pacific Cable Zone submarine cable maintenance contract
- design of a new contract model for the procurement of Transpower’s grid and fibre network maintenance services, and drafting the service-specific parts of the new contract
- advising on regulatory approvals for several of Transpower’s major capex projects
- drafting and helping implement the new transmission pricing methodology and settlement residue allocation methodology
- drafting the System Operator Service Provider Contract and legal support for its periodic reviews
- legal support for the System Operator’s security of supply functions, including the SOSFIP review.
Other electricity clients
- advising Orion, Counties Energy, Unison and Centralines on contracts for the connection of large generation and load customers to their networks
- advising Mataura Valley Milk on contracts for the procurement, installation, connection and supply of a new electrode boiler for its milk powder factory in Gore.
Sumitomo
Advising Sumitomo (former part owner of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter) on the smelter’s power purchase agreements, which account for around 13% of New Zealand’s electricity consumption.
