A Power Struggle: Demand Response and the Limits of FERC’s Authority

Authors

Adrien Dumoulin-Smith
Geoffrey Wright

Document Type

Supreme Court Commentaries

Publication Date

2-24-2016

Keywords

Administrative Law, Agency Jurisdiction, Energy Markets, Chevron Deference

Subject Category

Constitutional Law | Supreme Court of the United States

Abstract

This Commentary details a recent Supreme Court case which dealt with the question of the extent of a federal agency’s authority to regulate retail markets for electric power or whether the agency was restricted only to regulation of wholesale markets. In this case, the Court held that the federal agency had jurisdiction over wholesale markets, regardless of the impact in retail markets. This Commentary argues that the Court reached the correct result as a matter of statutory interpretation but also argues that the Court was insufficiently deferential to the agency in interpreting the extent of that agency’s jurisdiction under the statutory regime Congress had created.

Recommended Citation

Adrien Dumoulin-Smith & Geoffrey Wright, A Power Struggle: Demand Response and the Limits of FERC’s Authority, 11 Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy Sidebar 85-111 (2016)