United States Ninth Circuit

In a case arising out of the energy crisis of 2000 and 2001 in California, whereby the Federal Engery Regulatory Commission (FERC) attempted to ameliorate the crisis by ordering refunds from jurisdictional (public) and non-jurisdictional (non-public) entities for prices paid above what FERC later determined to be just and reasonable rate, a petition for review by a group of municipal and federal government entities which sold electricity in the affected markets but who are outside of FERC's refund jurisdiction, is denied, as although FERC does not have broad authority under section 206 of the FPA to retroactively reset rates that were charged in the California electricity markets during the time in question, and the FPA grants FERC the authority to investigate rates and to order refunds only from public utlities, the specific FERC orders that are challenged in the current petitioner nonetheless do not exceed the limits on FERC's authority.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/27/2012
• Published 08/27/2012

Judges

• Clifton

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel