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. (Amended opinion)

Appellate Information

• Argued 04/13/2005
• Decided 08/31/2006
• Published 08/31/2006

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.