MISO Transmission Owners v. FERC

── MISO Transmission Owners v. FERC ── Court: Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Date: June 05, 2026 Category: General United States Court of Appeals FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT Argued March 17, 2026 Decided June 5, 2026 No. 25-1045 MISO TRANSMISSION OWNERS, ET AL., PETITIONERS v. FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, RESPONDENT NORRIS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, ET AL., INTERVENORS Consolidated with 25-1066, 25-1069, 25-1115, 25-1124, 25-1126 On Petitions for Review of Orders of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Christopher R. Jones and Ruth M. Porter argued the causes for petitioners MISO Transmission Owners, et al. With them on the joint briefs were C. Dixon Wallace, III, Wendy N. Reed, and Matthew J. Binette. Abraham F. Johns III and Anne K. Dailey entered appearances.  2 Dana M. Shelton argued the causes for Customer petitioner. With her on the briefs were Noel J. Darce and Justin A. Swaim. Sean A. Atkins, Nicholas J. Cicale, Catherine McCarthy, Richard L. Roberts, Shaun M. Boedicker, Karen Bruni, Mary E. Grover, Colin Francis, S. Mark Sciarrotta, Steven M. Nadel, William M. Keyser, Jeffrey M. Jakubiak, and Melinda Warner were on the brief for amici curiae in support of Transmission Owner petitioners. Jared B. Fish, Senior Attorney, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief were David L. Morenoff, Deputy General Counsel, and Robert H. Solomon, Solicitor. Ruth M. Porter argued the cause for intervenors MISO Transmission Owners in support of respondent. With her on the brief were Wendy N. Reed and Matthew J. Binette. Jeffrey M. Bayne argued the cause for Customers intervenors in support of respondent. With him on the brief were James K. Mitchell, Kenneth R. Stark, Matthew L. Garber, Gerit F. Hull, Jason T. Gray, Noel J. Darce, Dana M. Shelton, Justin A. Swaim, Stephen C. Pearson, David E. Pomper, Michael R. Postar, Bhaveeta K. Mody, Andrea I. Sarmentero Garzon, Kevin M. Kurzeja, Katherine Ann Wade, and James H. Holt. Before: PAN and GARCIA, Circuit Judges, and EDWARDS, Senior Circuit Judge. Opinion for the Court filed by Senior Circuit Judge EDWARDS.  3 EDWARDS, Senior Circuit Judge: The petitions for review in this case involve claims raised by two petitioners challenging actions taken by respondent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”). The first petitioner includes a group of electric transmission companies (“Transmission Owners”) doing business within the province of Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (“MISO”). MISO is a non-profit, independent organization that administers the interstate electric grid in the Midcontinent region on behalf of Transmission Owners. The second petitioner is Louisiana Public Service Commission (“LPSC”), one of many state regulatory commissions within the Midcontinent region that is overseen by MISO. This case arises from a long-running dispute over one component of the rates charged by Transmission Owners to electricity customers. The disputed component, the return-on- equity (“Return”), reflects the rate Transmission Owners receive as compensation for their investments in MISO’s transmission facilities. On November 12, 2013, a group of customers filed a complaint with FERC to contest MISO’s Return as unlawful. That complaint argued that the Return violated FERC’s obligation to ensure “just and reasonable” rates under the Federal Power Act (“FPA”). 16 U.S.C. §§ 824d(a), 824e(a). On February 12, 2015, a second set of customers filed a separate complaint with FERC challenging the same Return. In MISO Transmission Owners v. FERC, 45 F.4th 248 (D.C. Cir. 2022), this court vacated FERC’s initial series of orders issued in response to those complaints and remanded the case to FE