The Maine Supreme Court held unconstitutional a state ballot initiative that proposed to reverse a Maine Public Utilities Commission order granting a certificate of public convenience and necessity for a 145-mile transmission line in New England. A power company argued the initiative violated the Ma...

The D.C. Circuit denied petitions to review FERC's order prohibiting states from barring electric storage resources (ESRs) on their distribution and retail systems from participating in federal markets. Utility groups argued that FERC exceeded its jurisdiction under the Federal Power Act by barring ...

The Eighth Circuit upheld FERC's decision to place a Colorado energy wholesaler into Zone 17 of a regional transmission organization authorized by the Commission to provide electric transmission services across a multistate region. A member of Zone 17 argued that FERC's decision was arbitrary and ca...

The Kansas Supreme Court held unlawful a rate design approved by the Kansas Corporation Commission under which utilities charged residential customers generating their own electricity from a renewable source (DG customers) a higher price than they charged non-DG customers. The utilities argued that ...

The Eighth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a constitutional challenge to Minnesota's right of first refusal (ROFR) law. An electric transmission company argued the law, which granted incumbent transmission owners a ROFR to construct, own, and maintain transmission lines that connect to their existin...

A district court held that a Texas right-of-first-refusal law giving existing electricity transmission providers in the state a preference to build and operate new lines is constitutional. An energy company argued the Texas law barred it from obtaining a certificate of convenience and necessity for ...

The Tenth Circuit vacated EPA orders that granted extensions of exemptions under the CAA's renewable fuels program for three small refineries. Industry groups challenged the orders, arguing that EPA failed to honor the statutory requirement of an "extension" by confusing an extension of an exemption...

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated a lower court ruling that found an energy developer trespassed on neighboring landowners' property by extracting natural gas from their property by way of hydraulic fracturing without permission. The developer argued that the extraction did not amount to trespa...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court order directing DOE to publish four energy conservation standards in the Federal Register. Environmental groups and states argued that an agency regulation known as the error-correction rule imposed upon DOE a nondiscretionary duty to publish the standards...

A state high court upheld the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee's denial of a utility company's application for siting, construction, and operation of a high-voltage transmission line to carry electricity from Canada into New England. The company argued the committee failed to consider all rel...