Supreme Court Rules Maryland Power Contract Structure Unconstitutional

On April 19, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Maryland program to subsidize the participation of a new power plant in the wholesale energy market infringed on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) exclusive jurisdiction over wholesale electricity rates. The Court limited its ruling to the contractual structure of the Maryland program and specified that states may promote generation through other measures that do not intrude on FERC authority. FERC-state jurisdictional overlap will continue to grow as the energy landscape further evolves to incorporate new generation portfolios and comply with environmental mandates.