United States Ninth Circuit

Petitions for review of a series of orders issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) relating to the California energy crisis are granted in part and denied in part where: 1) all the transactions at issue that occurred within the California Power Exchange Corporation (CalPX) or California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO) markets, or as a result of a CalPX or Cal-ISO transaction, were the proper subject of the FERC refund proceedings; 2) FERC properly excluded from the refund proceedings certain bilateral transactions that occurred outside the CalPX and Cal-ISO markets; and 3) FERC properly established the refund effective date for the Federal Powers Act section 206 proceedings, but erred in excluding section 309 relief for certain tariff violations.

Appellate Information

• Argued 04/13/2005
• Decided 08/02/2006
• Published 08/02/2006

Judges

• THOMAS, Circuit Judge., Before SIDNEY R. THOMAS, M. MARGARET McKEOWN, and RICHARD R. CLIFTON, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Robert A. O'Neil, San Diego City Attorney's Office, San Diego, CA, for petitioner-intervenor City of San Diego., Charles F. Robinson, Folsom, CA;  J. Phillip Jordan, Swidler BerlinShereff Friedman, Washington, D.C., for intervenor California Independent System Operator Corporation., David L. Alexander, Oakland, CA;  James M. Costan, McGuire Woods, Washington, D.C., for petitioner Port of Oakland., Randolph Q. McManus, Baker Botts, Washington, D.C., for intervenor Indicated Generators., Kenneth W. Irvin, McDermott Will & Emery, Washington, D.C., for intervenor El Paso Merchant Energy, L.P., Richard L. Roberts, Catherine M. Giovannoni, Joseph E. Stubbs, Melanie J. Teplinsky, of Steptoe & Johnson LLP, Washington, DC; and Stephen E. Pickett, Michael D. Mackness, and Joanna Mooreof Southern California Edison, for Intervenor Southern California Edison.


• For Appellees:
  
• Stan Berman, Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe, Seattle, WA;  Kevin J. McKeon, Hawke McKeon Sniscak & Kennard, Harrisburg, PA, for petitioner-intervenor and respondent-intervenor California Parties., Dennis Lane, Solicitor, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C., for respondent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission., Mark W. Pennak, Department of Justice, Civil Division, Washington, D.C., for respondent-intervenor and petitioner-intervenor Bonneville Power Administration., Harvey L. Reiter, Morrison & Hecker, Washington D.C., for respondent-intervenor and petitioners-intervenors Indicated Public Entities., David C. Frederick, Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel, Lawrence G. Acker, LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, Ronald N. Carroll, Foley & Lardner, Washington, D.C., for petitioner-intervenor and respondent-intervenor Competitive Suppliers Group., Natalie L. Hocken, Portland, OR;  Stuart F. Pierson, Troutman Sanders, Washington, D.C., for respondent-intervenor PacifiCorp.