NRG Power Marketing v. Maine Public Utilities Commission, No. 08-674; U.S. Supreme Court; opinion by Ginsburg, J.; dissent by Stevens, J.; decided January 13, 2010. On certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The Mobile – Sierra doctrine — see United Gas Pipe Line Co. v. Mobile Gas Service Corp. , 350 U.S. 332, and FPC v. Sierra Pacific Power Co. , 350 U.S. 348 — requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to presume that an electricity rate set by a freely negotiated wholesale-energy contract meets the Federal Power Act’s (FPA) “just and reasonable” prescription, 16 U.S.C. § 7824d(a); the presumption may be overcome only if FERC concludes that the contract seriously harms the public interest. Morgan Stanley Capital Group Inc. v. Public Util. Dist. No. 1 of Snohomish Cty. , 554 U.S. —.
