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Appeals Court Backs Illinois’ Nuclear Subsidies

September 14, 2018

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on September 13 upheld subsidies offered by Illinois to help struggling nuclear power plants. The court rejected arguments from power producers and some Illinois energy consumers that so-called zero-emission credits (ZEC) are preempted by the Federal Power Act. Opponents argued the program violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, saying it usurps the authority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and FERC’s jurisdiction over wholesale electricity markets.

The ruling was in the case Electric Power Supply Association et al. v. Star et al.

The Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA), an advocacy group for the electric power industry, along with other independent generators and some Illinois energy consumers had said the state’s ZEC program and the $ 235 million in yearly subsidies sent to a pair of Exelon Corp. nuclear plants as part of the state’s Future Energy Jobs Act directly impacted wholesale markets.

The latest appeal in Illinois was filed after a judge in July 2017 dismissed an earlier appeal by EPSA and a group of power generators.…

Several States Urge Federal Court to Rule on Clean Power Plan

September 6, 2018

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Seventeen states have asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to reject the Trump administration’s efforts to further delay the court’s decision on legal challenges to the Clean Power Plan.

In a filing with the court on September 4, the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington, noted that the case—State of West Virginia, et. al. v EPA (No. 15-1363)—claimed that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken “undue advantage” of the now 18-month-long abeyance granted to the agency by the federal court to allow it to review the rule.

The states were joined by the District of Columbia, and the cities of Boulder, Colorado; Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and South Miami, as well as Florida’s Broward County.

The EPA is “prolonging the delay through a series of notices that do not come close to fulfilling EPA’s statutory obligations,” the filing claims.…

Don’t Let EPA Stall on Clean Power Plan, 17 States Tell Federal Court

January 20, 2018

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The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) recent request that the D.C. Circuit hold a case challenging the Clean Power Plan in additional abeyance until it concludes rulemaking has been strongly opposed by 17 states and several cities.

The EPA, in its latest 30-day court-required status report filed on January 10, asked the federal court for continued abeyance of the massive case. The court heard oral arguments on the merits of the Obama administration’s legacy rule to curb carbon dioxide emissions from power plants 16 months ago.

But in a joint filing with the court on January 17, 17 states—California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington—along with the District of Columbia, New York City, Florida’s Broward County, Boulder (Colorado), Chicago, Philadelphia, and South Miami, urged the court to deny additional abeyance.

“Neither EPA’s proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan nor its prolonged and uncertain plans to replace the rule justify additional abeyance,” the parties argued.…

Enviros Call for Court Decision in Clean Power Plan Case

August 7, 2017

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Given that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) isn’t going to be taking any substantial action to rewrite the Clean Power Plan anytime soon, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit should not postpone a decision in the court case against the rule, an August 4 document filed by a group of environmental intervenors in the case argues.

The case against the Clean Power Plan was argued in court on September 27, 2016, before a panel of 10 judges. In the more than ten months since the hearing, the court has not issued a decision in the case.

The situation got more complicated after the election of President Donald Trump, an opponent of the rule, and the nomination of former Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, who had sued the former administration’s EPA over the rule, as the new administrator of the EPA.

Pruitt’s EPA announced right away that it would be reviewing the rule, as he believes it represents an overreach of the EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act.…

Court Dismisses Westinghouse Claim for $2B Recovery from CB&I

July 1, 2017

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More grim news emerged for financially strapped Westinghouse after the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a chancery court decision that the company was counting on to recoup $ 2 billion from an acquisition dispute with Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I).

The court rejected Westinghouse’s contention of CB&I’s calculations of its final purchase price—even though it paid nothing for the company up front. In favor of CB&I’s pleading, the court also ruled that nearly all of Westinghouse’s claims would not be presented to an independent auditor.

A Contentious Relationship

Westinghouse took the desperate step of filing for bankruptcy protection in March 29, crippled by financial setbacks stemming from half-built AP1000 reactor projects in Georgia and South Carolina. In documents associated with the filing, Westinghouse pointed to compounding delays associated with federally mandated design changes to the Vogtle and V.C. Summer projects, as well construction challenges, all of which played into the exorbitant cost increases that ultimately caused its financial debacle (for more, see How Westinghouse, Symbol of U.S.…

Fight to Keep EPA’s Clean Power Plan Alive Intensifies in Federal Court

April 7, 2017

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A coalition of 24 states and localities have urged a federal court reviewing the merits of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan to stall the agency’s recent motion to suspend a case challenging the controversial rule.

West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (No. 15-1363) is arguably the most important set of environmental cases in nearly a decade. For the U.S. power sector, the stakes are particularly high. The sector has grappled with uncertainty about the Clean Power Plan’s future since the Supreme Court issued a stay of the rule on February 9, 2016.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the case before an en banc panel on merits of the EPA’s controversial rule on September 27, 2016.

Twenty-seven states are challenging the legality of the rule finalized by the EPA under the Obama administration. They are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.…