On December 1, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that outcomes by operation of law caused by deadlocks among the members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) are judicially...more
Below are summaries of the agenda items for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's open meeting to be held on April 20, 2023, pursuant to the sunshine notice released on April 13, 2023....more
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”) addressed in a December 20th Opinion an issue involving the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) licensing process. See...more
On March 14, 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (the “Fifth Circuit”) revisited the issue of the rejection of filed-rate contracts in bankruptcy where such contracts are governed by the Federal...more
A decision by the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit on June 30 rejected the near routine use by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission of tolling orders to prevent rehearing requests from being denied by operation of...more
On March 25, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld a Minnesota statute granting incumbent electric transmission owners a right of first refusal (ROFR) to construct, own, and maintain electric...more
In FERC v. FirstEnergy Solutions Corp. (In re FirstEnergy Solutions Corp), Case No. 18-3787 (6th Cir. Dec. 12, 2019), the Sixth Circuit affirmed the bankruptcy court’s jurisdiction over the rejection of certain power purchase...more
On December 12, 2019, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a highly anticipated ruling in the FirstEnergy Solutions Corp. bankruptcy case, regarding the efforts of FirstEnergy Solutions Corp. (FirstEnergy or...more
Periods of volatility in energy prices cause spikes in energy companies’ bankruptcies. These bankruptcies lead to debtors’ attempts to reject power purchase agreements (“PPAs”). These attempts ignite the unresolved legal...more
On December 12, 2019, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that the bankruptcy court in the bankruptcy proceedings of FirstEnergy Solutions Corp. (FES) has jurisdiction to decide whether...more
On January 25, 2019, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that applicants for licenses under the Federal Power Act may not reach private agreements with states to circumvent the FPA requirement that states act on water...more
On September 27, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (Second Circuit) affirmed a district court’s finding that New York’s Zero Emissions Credit (ZEC) program is not preempted by federal law. The Second...more
On September 27, 2018, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision in Coalition for Competitive Electricity v. Zibelman, 2nd Cir. No. 17-2654, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 27605 (Sep. 27, 2018). ...more
In a surprisingly terse opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Seventh Circuit) recently affirmed a district court’s finding that Illinois’ Zero Emissions Credit (ZEC) program is not preempted by federal...more
On September 13, 2018, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued its long-awaited decision in the consolidated cases of Elec. Power Supply Assn. v. Anthony M. Star, 7th Cir. Nos. 17-2433, 17-2445, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 25980...more
Primarily relying on precedent from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth and D.C. Circuits, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine recently dismissed an Endangered Species Act (ESA) lawsuit challenging two...more
This Advisory briefly reports on some of the significant U.S. Supreme Court actions from January through June 2016 related to environmental and administrative law. ...more
Court rules that FERC policy permitting a tax allowance for pass-through entities may unjustifiably permit “double-recovery” of tax expense. On July 1, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued...more
Ensuring the reliability of the electric power grid in times of extreme weather and other times of peak usage is critical to avoid interruptions in power and black outs. Reflecting on the 2014 Polar Vortex, the paramount...more
A Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Administrative Law Judge last week issued an Initial Decision finding that BP America (BP) and certain related BP entities violated FERC’s Anti-Manipulation Rule. Following a...more
On September 11, 2014, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit unanimously affirmed an October 2013 decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey that New Jersey’s Long-Term...more
FERC’s Order No. 745 requiring independent regional grid operators (RTOs and ISOs) in limited circumstances to compensate providers of state-authorized demand response services in the same amounts that they compensate...more