By: Derek Hawkins//February 1, 2016//
US Supreme Court
Case Name: FERC v. Electric Power Supply
Case No.: 14-840
Practice Area: Authority to Act – Federal Agency
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is granted authority to regulate sale market operator’s compensation and demand response bids.
“Spurred on by Congress, FERC issued Order No. 719, which, among other things, requires wholesale market operators to receive demand response bids from aggregators of electricity consumers, except when the state regulatory authority overseeing those users’ retail purchases bars demand response participation. 18 CFR §35.28(g)(1). Concerned that the order had not gone far enough, FERC then issued the rule under review here, Order No. 745. §35.28(g)(1)(v) (Rule). It requires market operators to pay the same price to demand response providers for conserving energy as to generators for producing it, so long as a “net benefits test,” which ensures that accepted bids actually save consumers money, is met. The Rule rejected an alternative compensation scheme that would have subtracted from LMP the savings consumers receive from not buying electricity in the retail market, a formula known as LMP-G. The Rule also rejected claims that FERC lacked statutory authority to regulate the compensation operators pay for demand response bids.”
Justice Scalia and Justice Thomas Dissenting