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John P. Carleton

John's practice focuses significantly on the electric energy industry. He has represented developers, vendors, purchasers, lenders and underwriters in the procurement, project development, sale and financing of coal fired, cogeneration, biomass and wind power production facilities and the debt and capital markets financings of such projects. Such representation has involved the preparation of fuel supply, electricity sales, steam sales, operation and maintenance, engineering procurement and construction and financing documents and experience in negotiating base load and peaking electricity supply agreements.

John has been closely involved, since its inception, in deregulation of the Alberta electric energy sector and has been involved in the development of applicable legislation, regulation and market rules. John has provided counsel to the Alberta Electric System Operator, the legislatively created real time spot market for the exchange of electric energy and transmission service provider in Alberta. He has also represented Balancing Pool of Alberta which holds and trades previously regulated electricity under legislatively created power purchase arrangements. John represented Balancing Pool in the preparation of its Standard Forward Contract used in it's forward sales of electric energy under those power purchase arrangements. John was called upon, in that context, to assist in the development of arrangements for the implementation of an Alberta electricity forward market and the interface between the forward and real time spot markets. Such representation has also involved John in the development of multi-jurisdictional electricity transmission and system control arrangements and the interface of Canadian control areas with emerging regional transmission organizations in the United States. John was counsel to the international accounting firm selected by the Government of Alberta to transition the regulated electric generation capacity in Alberta to a deregulated environment. In this regard, he participated in the design of the standard power purchase arrangement which now governs approximately 70% of Alberta's previously regulated electric generation capacity. John has, as well, advised clients on entry into the retail electricity market and consumers on power acquisition arrangements in the deregulated environment.

John was transaction counsel to the AltaLink purchase consortium in the acquisition of Alberta's largest electricity transmission system. He was also transaction counsel in Fortis Inc.'s acquisition of Alberta's largest electricity distribution system and continues his representation of FortisAlberta.

John has been involved in several large electric power production facility and chemical facility developments including all aspects of the procurement, engineering, construction and operation for and of such facilities. In connection with these projects, John has represented owners in secured debt financings from institutional and private investors and has been involved in several public income fund and public limited partnership financings to fund project acquisition and development. John has also represented clients on the design and provision, by European suppliers, of large equipment projects.

John has advised a wide spectrum of business clients, public institutions and large cooperatives and their boards of directors on a broad range of legal and business issues including statutory and legal authority, general corporate and commercial law matters; partnership, corporation and joint venture formation; shareholder and business participant relationships; corporate and business reorganization; share and asset acquisitions and dispositions; and general contract matters. He has served on the boards of private and distributing corporations and charitable associations.

John also practises in the area of competition and foreign investment review law and has acted for large corporations in preparing and filing, notifications of mergers and acquisitions under the Competition Act and applications for review under the Investment Canada Act. He has participated in negotiations for undertakings and variations to undertakings under investment review legislation. He has provided legal opinions and advice to a wide range of clients respecting the Competition Act and structuring business arrangements to ensure compliance with competition legislation.

John chairs Macleod Dixon's electricity practice group which has members in all of our offices. He has presented papers at and chaired many conferences on electric industry and electricity deregulation matters, including, presentations at a world conference of the Association of Power Exchanges and as invited speaker to a Latin American Electric Industry Conference held in Colombia. He has also coached community hockey and soccer teams. He is a member of the Law Society of Alberta, the Canadian Bar Association and the Calgary Bar Association. John has served on the executive of the business law subsection of the Canadian Bar Association. He was the course head and a lecturer of the corporate law section of the Alberta Bar Admission Course and was also a contributing writer to the Alberta Bar Admission Course in business law.

John received his undergraduate degree from the University of Calgary in 1975 and his bachelor of laws degree from the University of Alberta in 1982. He was called to the Alberta Bar in 1983. He practised with MacKimmie Matthews for 17 years and is now a partner with Macleod Dixon LLP.