PORTLAND (AP) — A Maine-based energy consultant facing federal charges of allegedly trying to manipulate the energy market wants the case against him either dismissed or transferred to Maine.

Federal officials sued in U.S. District Court in Boston to force Richard Silkman and his company, Competitive Energy Services LLC, to pay $8.75 million in fines to settle charges that he helped a client fraudulently earn millions of dollars by manipulating a program designed to save energy.

The Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/Jwqa8Y ) reported that Silkman’s attorney says the case should be moved because all the relevant information and witnesses are in Maine.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission alleged in a lawsuit filed Dec. 2 that Silkman helped his client, Rumford Paper Co., mislead ISO New England, the region’s power grid operator. Both declined comment.