Appellate Court Upholds FERC Ruling Regarding “Right of First Refusal”
Posted on Jul 8, 2016 in Litigation, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Appellate Court Upholds FERC Ruling Regarding “Right of First Refusal”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld a rule preventing utilities from relying on a “right of first refusal” for transmission projects in Southwest Power Pool’s region, opening up competitive bidding. Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co. and other utilities sued the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in December 2014, arguing that it gave up some transmission planning rights in exchange for the right of first refusal, but FERC argued the rights created a pre-existing barrier to entry for non-incumbent transmission owners.
