ELR Citation: 55 ELR 20034
No(s). 24-3248, 24-3249, and 25-1024 (7th Cir. Mar 13, 2025)

The Seventh Circuit vacated a preliminary injunction that had barred enforcement of an Indiana statute giving incumbent electric companies rights of first refusal (ROFRs) to build and operate new interstate transmission facilities that connect to facilities they own. Companies seeking to build and operate transmission lines in Indiana sued the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC), arguing the statute violated the dormant Commerce Clause, and sought to enjoin the Commission from enforcing it. The district court issued a preliminary injunction, finding the companies had standing because IURC enforced the ROFRs and concluding that if it enjoined IURC from enforcing the statute, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO)—which plans, approves, and assigns construction for new interstate transmission projects in Indiana—would no longer be able to recognize an incumbent's ROFR. The appellate court held the companies lacked standing because the injunction did not oblige MISO—the entity responsible for assigning these projects and for the harm the companies feared—to act in any particular way, nor did it prompt MISO to modify its actions. It vacated the preliminary injunction and remanded to the district court.