Connecticut officials said they would appeal a decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) over electricity delivery.
At issue is whether three energy producers in New York successfully delivered power according to their contracts to utility customers in Connecticut. In 2009, the New England Independent System Operator (ISO New England) said in a report that the three power providers had failed in their duty to deliver electricity for which Connecticut ratepayers were billed.
ISO New England officials later retracted that assertion, however, affirming it was based on a preliminary study. Executives from the nonprofit – which oversees the electric grid and smart grid development in the region – said that a final comprehensive study found that none of the New York-based power providers had failed to deliver electricity to Connecticut utility customers.
Nevertheless, though ISO-New England conceded it had miscalculated, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal – who is now a U.S. senator – moved forward with plans to file suit against the three utilities regardless, Watchdog reports. The state's Department of Public Utility Control and the Office of Consumer Counsel, according to the news provider, also backed Blumenthal.
In its lawsuit, the state of Connecticut argued that the three companies – Constellation Energy Commodities Group, Shell Energy North America and Brookfield Energy Marketing Inc. – could not sell electricity in the state. Connecticut, which comprises a portion of New England's electric grid, also alleged that the three power providers were violating federal law as a result of the exorbitant fees they charged for electricity.
States in New England are overly reliant on antiquated power generating facilities, and the ISO-New England has worked over the past few years to procure electricity from outside of the region's electric grid. New England has also increased its demand response resources as a means of improving energy efficiency and reducing overall electricity consumption rates.
However, the power providers argued that they complied with federal law in their pricing schemes. Moreover, they affirmed that they had, in fact, sold electricity to New England. FERC official Judge H. Peter Young sided with the utilities.
In his ruling, Young asserted that Connecticut's lawyers had "failed in the extreme" to prove their case, prompting the organization's decision to side with the power providers over the state. FERC officials also recently rejected Connecticut's rehearing request. Still, the state has paid so much in lawyer fees that is moving forward with its appeal.
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