Opinion ID: 186908
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Refunds for Cost of Interruptible Load

Text: 10 Entergy continued to include interruptible load in its calculation and allocation of peak load responsibility after Louisiana had filed its complaint in March 1995. Louisiana contends the Commission may and should, pursuant to § 206(b) of the Act, 16 U.S.C. § 824e(b), order the Operating Companies that were benefitted by the inclusion of interruptible load in the calculation to pay the Operating Companies that were burdened the amount each would have paid if interruptible load had not been included for the 15-month period following the refund effective date. That section of the Act authorizes the Commission to order a public utility that has charged customers an unjust or unreasonable rate: to make refunds of any amounts paid, for the period subsequent to the refund effective date through a date fifteen months after such refund effective date, in excess of those which would have been paid under the just and reasonable rate ... which the Commission orders to be thereafter observed and in force. 11 Section 206(c), however, specifically prohibits the Commission from ordering one subsidiary of a holding company to refund monies to a sister subsidiary unless the Commission determines the holding company will not experience any reduction of revenue because of the payor subsidiary's inability ... to recover such increase in costs from its ratepayers.  12 After this court held in Louisiana I that the Commission had not adequately explained its decision permitting Entergy to include interruptible load in its calculation of peak load, the Commission established May 14, 1995 as the refund effective date. La. Pub. Serv. Comm'n v. Entergy Servs., Inc., 93 F.E.R.C. ¶ 61,013 at 61,027 (2000). In Opinion Nos. 468 and 468-A, however, the Commission determined it could not order refunds because it could not find, as required by § 206(c), that the Operating Companies would be able to recover the refunded amounts from their retail customers. Louisiana Commission, 106 F.E.R.C. ¶ 61,228 at 61,805-06 PP 82-89 (Opinion No. 468), reh'g denied, 111 F.E.R.C. ¶ 61,080 at 61,370 PP 21-22 (Opinion No. 468-A). In response to Louisiana's contention that a refund ordered by the Commission would preempt inconsistent state retail rates, the Commission observed that it lacked jurisdiction to directly prescribe retail rates. Louisiana Commission, 111 F.E.R.C. ¶ 61,080 at 61,370 P 22 (Opinion No. 468-A). The Commission also rejected as being without probative value testimony proffered by Louisiana asserting that the payor subsidiaries could pass the cost of refunds on to their retail customers in the same manner as they pass on equalization payments under the System Agreement. Louisiana Commission, 106 F.E.R.C. ¶ 61,228 at 61,805-06 PP 85-89 (Opinion No. 468). Louisiana also seeks review of Order Nos. 468 and 468-A with respect to this question of Commission authority. 13