After opening an email Tuesday morning from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Alison Haverty quickly woke up the rest of her family. The West Virginia woman won a challenge that she and her friend lodged against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission—a feat for a pair that represented themselves and don’t have legal backgrounds.

In an opinion Tuesday, the court ruled the commission improperly allowed the Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline to pass $6 million onto rate payers to cover costs associated with a public relations and advocacy campaign meant to build support for a proposed transmission line. Haverty and her friend Keryn Newman, whose rates both increased, filed a petition against FERC in August 2020.