On June 18, 2019, a Montana State District Court reversed the Montana Public Service Commission (Commission or MPSC), finding that MTSUN, a qualifying facility under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), was entitled to a 25-year contract to sell its energy and capacity to NorthWestern Energy. The case was heard before the same Judge that decided the QF-1 docket on April 2, 2019 and to a large degree the decision is the same. [Read more…]
Ninth Circuit Rejects PURPA Implementation Claim as Moot in Unpublished Opinion
June 11, 2019 By
On June 3, 2019, the Ninth Circuit issued an unpublished Decision Memorandum in Bear Gulch, LLC et. al. v. Montana Public Service Commission, in which it found that the federal district court erred by not finding that certain arguments related to Montana’s generally applicable legally enforceable obligation (LEO) standard was moot. The Ninth Circuit found that the arguments raised by Bear Gulch Solar, LLC and other qualifying facilities developed by Cypress Creek Renewables (QFs) were mooted because the Montana Commission subsequently enacted a new LEO rule. [Read more…]
Ninth Circuit Rules in Favor of Renewable QFs
April 30, 2019 By
On April 24, 2019, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (Ninth Circuit) issued an opinion regarding the California Public Utilities Commission’s (“California Commission”) failure to properly implement the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA). Specifically, the Ninth Circuit held that the avoided cost price paid to a qualifying facility (QF) cannot be based on energy sources that do not meet California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), if the state has an RPS and the utility is using the QF’s energy to meet the RPS. [Read more…]
Montana District Court Finds that Public Service Commission Acted Arbitrarily and Unreasonably
April 8, 2019 By
On April 3, 2019, a Montana District Court Judge, Judge Manley, issued an order reversing the Montana Public Service Commission’s (“Montana Commission”) orders 7500c and 7500d that cut Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (“PURPA”) standard avoided cost prices and contract lengths for qualifying facilities (“QFs”) offered by Montana utility NorthWestern Energy (“NorthWestern”). [Read more…]
Oregon Public Utility Commission Codifies PURPA Policies
November 2, 2018 By
On October 29, 2018, the Oregon Public Utility Commission (Oregon Commission) issued modifications to its rules governing a utility’s purchase of power from qualifying facilities (QFs) under Oregon’s implementation of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA). These rules were codified in the Oregon Commission’s rules after they were published by the Oregon Secretary of State on November 2, 2018. The final rules are the culmination of a three-year old Petition for Rulemaking filed by Obsidian Renewables, LLC in November 2015. [Read more…]
