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EPSA-LED COALITION FILES BRIEF URGING SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW KEY CASE ON POWER CONTRACTS
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA) has filed an amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court on behalf of itself and others in an important case on wholesale power contracts. EPSA is asking the Court to reverse the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' decision in December 2006 which could allow the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to nullify wholesale power contracts important to the stability and reliability of the nation's supply of electricity.
Joining EPSA in filing the brief is a geographically diverse coalition, emphasizing the national importance of the case: the Colorado Independent Energy Association, the Independent Energy Producers Association (California), the Independent Power Producers of New York, the Northwest & Intermountain Power Producers Coalition, the New England Power Generators Association, Inc. and the Western Power Trading Forum.
EPSA and the other amici filed to urge the Supreme Court to grant certiorari of the Ninth Circuit decisions and correct the conflicts created by them. "Amici and their members have made long-term financial commitments, involving hundreds of billions of dollars, in reliance on this Court's settled authorities protecting the integrity of privately negotiated wholesale power contracts. Because the Ninth Circuit decisions purport to grant FERC never-before-recognized authority to abrogate such contracts, amici are concerned that the decisions below will destabilize the Nation's power markets, discourage much-needed investment, and ultimately lead to higher costs for consumers."
"By making buyer's (but not seller's) remorse a basis for escaping long-term contracts, the Ninth Circuit's newly-fashioned, asymmetrical rules will discourage much-needed investment and undermine the Commission's market-based system, ultimately resulting in high energy costs and less reliable energy supplies," the brief stressed."
"As EPSA indicated when the Ninth Circuit cases were announced last December, these rulings increase uncertainty about whether contracts can be relied on, including contracts associated with needed infrastructure investments," said John E. Shelk, president and CEO of EPSA. "The increased risk created by such uncertainty will likely lead to higher, not lower power prices."
"We are grateful that FERC has taken well-reasoned steps in recent years, including in 2007, to strengthen the market-based rate program for wholesale power sales. A required next step is for the Supreme Court to fully remove the costly contract uncertainty created by the Ninth Circuit decisions."
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EPSA Brief in Support of Petitions For Certiorari.PDF
CONTACT: JOHN SHELK
(202) 349-0154or 703-472-8660
EPSA is the national trade association representing competitive power suppliers, including generators and marketers. These suppliers, who account for nearly 40 percent of the installed generating capacity in the United States, provide reliable and competitively priced electricity from environmentally responsible facilities serving global power markets. EPSA seeks to bring the benefits of competition to all power customers.