A federal appeals court has struck down a challenge against energy regulators’ requirement for a pipeline company to restore service on its project before abandoning it.
In a decision issued Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission did not act beyond its power when it ordered developers of the Stingray pipeline to either bring the project back into service after it was damaged by a hurricane or reach an agreement with its sole shipper before selling the line to an entity outside FERC’s jurisdiction.
Judge Robert Wilkins, who led the court’s unanimous opinion, wrote that the commission has a responsibility to ensure that natural gas promised to the interstate market continues to be delivered, so long as there is demand from the public for the fuel.
“Stingray failed to establish that unconditional abandonment was consistent with the public convenience or necessity,” wrote Wilkins, an Obama appointee. “The Commission’s conditional abandonment order did not exceed its authority.”
