Appellate Briefs

D.C. Cir. Nos. 21-1042 and 21-1109 Order denying Morrisville’s petition for a declaratory order and concluding that Vermont had not waived Clean Water Act water quality certification authority.  Village of Morrisville, Vermont, 173 FERC ¶ 61,156 (2020), order on reh’g, 174 FERC ¶ 61,141 (2021).

D.C. Cir. Nos. 23-1342, et al. Order denying waiver of water quality certification under CWA section 401, for the proposed relicensing of the Upper Drum-Spaulding Hydroelectric Project No. 2310, Deer Creek Hydroelectric Project No. 14530, and Lower Drum Project No. 14531.  Pacific Gas & Electric Co., 184 FERC ¶ 61,138 (2023); Order on Rehearing and on Supplemental Petition for Declaratory Order (concerning the Yuba-Bear Project), Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and Nevada Irrigation Dist., 186 FERC ¶ 61,121 (2024); Order on Rehearing (concerning Yuba-Bear Project), Nevada Irrigation Dist., 187 FERC ¶ 61,095 (2024).   D.C. Cir.

D.C. Cir. No. 24-1092 Order denying complaint, concerning PJM’s calculation and assessment of Non-Performance Charges under its tariff. Energy Harbor LLC v. PJM Interconnection, L.L.C., 185 FERC ¶ 61,203 (2023); Notice of Denial of Rehearing By Operation of Law, 186 FERC ¶ 62,070 (Feb. 20, 2024).

D.C. Cir. Nos. 24-1094 and 24-1150 Order granting three-year extension of time, until June 18, 2026, to complete construction of the MVP Southgate Project. Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC, 185 FERC ¶ 61,208 (2023), on reh’g, 187 FERC ¶ 61,039 (2024).

D.C. Cir. Nos. 24-1291, et al. Opposition of Respondent FERC to Motion For Stay.

D.C. Cir. No. 24-1076 Order affirming ALJ initial decision, after hearing, concerning the fuel and loss retention percentages (F&LR) and the electric power cost rates (EPCR) proposed in Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s annual fuel filing submitted on March 1, 2021.  Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co., L.L.C., 186 FERC ¶ 61,069 (2024); Notice of Denial of Rehearing by Operation of Law, 186 FERC ¶ 62,162 (Mar. 28, 2024).

D.C. Cir. No. 23-1196, et al. Order on remand and compliance, from Kentucky Mun. Energy Agency v. FERC, 45 F.4th 162 (D.C. Cir. 2022), rejecting proposal to remove rate depancaking requirement related to earlier merger between LG&E and KU.  Louisville Gas & Elec. Co., Order on remand, 183 FERC ¶ 61,122 (2023), order on reh’g, 185 FERC ¶ 61,121 (2023); Order on compliance filing and transition mechanism agreements, 185 FERC ¶ 61,120 (2023), order on reh’g, 186 FERC ¶ 61,191 (2024).

D. C. Cir. No. 23-1348, et al. Order on exceptions to ALJ’s Initial Decision concerning the Quality Bank for the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS), and specifically whether the current Quality Bank methodology for valuing Resid continues to be just and reasonable.  BP Pipelines (Alaska) Inc., ConocoPhillips Transportation Alaska, Inc., and ExxonMobil Pipeline Co., Opinion No. 588, 185 FERC ¶ 61,206 (2023).

4th Cir. No. 23-1192 Supplemental Brief.  Order on petition for declaratory order, asking the Commission to declare that Blue Ridge members are permitted to utilize battery storage technology on their systems to manage their demands under the terms of full requirements power contracts with Appalachian Power.  Blue Ridge Power Agency, 181 FERC ¶ 61,048 (2022); Notices of Denial of Rehearing by Operation of Law, 181 FERC ¶ 62,199 (2022) and 184 FERC ¶ 62,048 (2023).  

D.C. Cir. Nos. 22-1059, et al. Response of Respondent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to Petition for Panel and En Banc Rehearing

D.C. Cir. No. 23-1291 Order approving surrender of hydropower license for projects in Maine and New Hampshire; denying dam removal and decommissioning alternative.  Aclara Meters, LLC, 183 FERC ¶ 62,095 (2023), order on reh’g, 184 FERC ¶ 61,183 (2023).

D.C. Cir. Nos. 23-1264, et al. Order setting aside earlier 10/22/22 order, and now rejecting SPP process allocating costs of a transmission facility with a voltage level between 100 kV and 300 kV (Byway facility), and dismissing compliance filing.  Southwest Power Pool, Inc., 184 FERC ¶ 61,028 (2023), order on reh’g, 185 FERC ¶ 61,189 (2023).

5th Cir. No. 23-60110, et al. Order following hearing and ALJ initial decision, concerning electric plant capacity rates that are charged by System Energy Resources.  La. Pub. Serv. Comm’n v. Sys. Energy Res., Inc., Opinion No. 581, 181 FERC ¶ 61,243 (2022), order on reh’g, 184 FERC ¶ 61,097 (2023).  

D.C. Cir. No. 23-1334 Order authorizing ITC Midwest to recover, pursuant to Order No.

D.C. Cir. No. 23-1288 Order authorizing abandonments, of offshore and mainline facilities, by removal, in-place, and sale to Triton Gathering LLC, and determining jurisdictional status of facilities.  Stingray Pipeline Co., L.L.C., 183 FERC ¶ 61,201 (2023), order on reh’g, 185 FERC ¶ 61,171 (2023).

D.C. Cir. No. 23-1134, et al. Order on tariff revisions concerning reactive power supply. Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc., 182 FERC ¶ 61,033 (2023), order on reh’g, 184 FERC ¶ 61,022 (2023).  

S. Ct. No. 23-1069 Brief for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.  PJM proposed revisions to its Open Access Transmission Tariff, regarding application of the Minimum Offer Price Rule in its capacity market, go into effect by operation of law.  PJM Interconnection, L.L.C., Notice of Filing Taking Effect by Operation of Law (Sept. 29, 2021) (noting that Commission did not act on PJM’s filing “because the Commissioners are divided two against two as to the lawfulness of the change”), rehearing denied by operation of law, 177 FERC ¶ 62,105 (Nov. 29, 2021).  

D.C. Cir. No. 22-1334 and 23-1151 Order rejecting proposed tariff revisions, to require market participants representing load serving entities participating in MISO’s planning resource auction to implement a Minimum Capacity Obligation.  Midcontinent Independent System Operator,  Inc., 180 FERC ¶ 61,142 (2022), order on reh’g, 183 FERC  ¶ 61,112 (2023).

D.C. Cir. No. 23-1236 Order denying complaint and petition, seeking reimbursement of funds paid to WAPA for the expansion of WAPA’s Kimball Substation.  Kimball Wind, LLC v. Western Area Power Administration, Rocky Mountain Region, 183 FERC ¶ 61,085 (2023), order on reh’g, 184 FERC ¶ 61,150 (2023).

S. Ct. No. 23-773 Brief for the Federal Respondent in Opposition. Order adopting the PJM Market Monitor’s Unit-Specific Avoidable Cost Rate, and granting PJM request for waiver of certain pre-auction deadlines in the event the Commission establishes a lower value for the replacement default offer cap.  Independent Market Monitor for PJM v. PJM Interconnection, L.L.C., 176 FERC ¶ 61,137 (Sept. 2, 2021); Notice of denial of rehearing by operation of law and providing for further consideration, 177 FERC ¶ 62,066 (Nov. 4, 2021); Order on Rehearing, 178 FERC ¶ 61,121 (Feb. 18, 2022).