Clash of the Titans: Bankruptcy Court and FERC Collide Over Jurisdiction Yet Again

Abstract

latory Commission” (FERC) are typically not words one hears together in the realm of the natural gas and electricity industry. After all, the energy sector for the most part offers boundless opportunities for profit and avoidance of bankruptcies. Nevertheless, the vast fluctuations and the vagaries of markets, technological change, and economic conditions at times force industry participants to seek refuge in the bankruptcy courts, which presents an immediate problem. Normally participants in the interstate markets for natural gas and electricity are answerable, first and foremost, to FERC. As far back as 1935 and the New Deal, Congress assigned FERC (and its predecessors) the responsibility to maintain fair and orderly markets in both those vital commodities. Among other things, the agency is tasked with protecting the “public good” when approving rates charged for natural gas and electricity. Clash of the Titans: Bankruptcy Court and FERC Collide Over Jurisdiction Yet Again