On March 6, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States denied a petition to review FERC’s requirement in Order No. 1000 that transmission providers remove from their tariffs and agreements provisions granting incumbent transmission owners a right of first refusal (“ROFR”) to construct transmission facilities selected in a regional transmission plan (see April 13, 2016 edition of the WER). The October 14, 2016 petition, filed by a group of Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (“MISO”) transmission owners, requested review of an April 8, 2016 decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (“Seventh Circuit”) upholding FERC’s requirement.
The denial of the petition for writ of certiorari means that the Seventh Circuit’s April 8, 2016 ruling will stand. The case is docketed in Case No. 16-531.