U.S. Supreme Court Rules that Third-Parties Challenging Energy Contract Rates Must Clear the Mobile-Sierra Hurdle
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important ruling clarifying how the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) must apply the Mobile-Sierra doctrine. The Mobile-Sierra doctrine informs how FERC should evaluate whether a contract rate for energy is just and reasonable, and the doctrine provides that FERC's sole concern should be whether the contract rates being challenged adversely affect the public interest--a high hurdle. Until today, some people questioned whether the Mobile-Sierra doctrine was limited to parties to a contract, and whether non-contracting parties bringing a challenge would be held to a lower standard. The Court, however, made clear that the Mobile-Sierra doctrine should apply to any party (including FERC) challenging whether energy rates are just and reasonable, stating that a presumption that applies to contracting parties only, but not anybody else, fails to establish the contractual stability that Mobile-Sierra aimed to secure.
To read more about today's U.S. Supreme Court decision, click here.
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