Brian Boyle Publishes Article on Energy Performance Contracts for Texas Town & City

June 14, 2021

Lightfoot, Franklin & White LLC partner Brian C. Boyle published an article in the June issue of Texas Town & City, the official magazine of the Texas Municipal League. The article, titled “Buyer Beware: Energy Performance Contracts Don’t Always Deliver on Promised Savings,” examines the so-called “energy performance” or “energy savings” agreements used to finance costly city infrastructure updates.

“These agreements promise to finance the capital costs of infrastructure projects with ‘guaranteed’ savings from improved energy efficiency and reduced operating expenses,” writes Boyle. “Whether they can deliver on those promises, however, is up for debate.”

He goes on to lay out practical advice and words of warning for city officials who may be considering such contracts — and he writes from experience. 

In May 2020, Lightfoot secured a multimillion-dollar settlement on behalf of the City of Jackson, Mississippi, in its lawsuit against Siemens. The suit sought damages for a failed water meter and billing system designed by the international company that ended up costing the city more than $20 million a year. Boyle was a part of the Lightfoot team that represented the City of Jackson; he and partner Johnny Johnson outlined the matter in a case study for American City & County later that year.

Boyle is a partner in Lightfoot’s Houston office whose commercial litigation practice primarily focuses on clients in the energy sector. In addition, he frequently handles construction disputes, trade secret and noncompete claims, and other high-stakes business disputes, representing both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts and in arbitrations across the country.