THE HAZY "BRIGHT LINE": DEFINING FEDERAL AND STATE REGULATION OF TODAY'S ELECTRIC GRID

In the 1935 Federal Power Act, Congress drew what the Supreme Court later described as a "Bright Line" between federal and state regulation of the electric power grid, giving federal regulators exclusive authority over wholesale electric sales in interstate commerce, and relegating retail...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEnergy law journal Vol. 41; no. 2; pp. 323 - 336
Main Author Nordhaus, Robert R
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington Foundation of the Energy Law Journal 01.07.2020
Subjects
19th century
Distributed generation
Division of labor
Electric industries
Electric power
Electric power grids
Electricity
Electricity distribution
Energy management
Federal regulation
Interstate commerce
Jurisdiction
Labor
Local distribution companies
Natural gas utilities
Public utilities
Retail sales
Sales
State regulation
State regulations
Taxation
Southern California
United States > US
Missouri
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Summary:In the 1935 Federal Power Act, Congress drew what the Supreme Court later described as a "Bright Line" between federal and state regulation of the electric power grid, giving federal regulators exclusive authority over wholesale electric sales in interstate commerce, and relegating retail sales to state regulators. This division of labor between state and federal regulators is still in effect today with only minor changes. However the grid they regulate has changed, and will change even more in the future. This article describes the current "Bright Line" between state and federal regulation. It then looks at whether this regulatory division of labor continues to be a workable model for the electric power industry in light of market developments and changes in the use of the grid (such as distributed generator and demand response). Finally, it reviews a number of options for needed changes in the regulatory model.
ISSN:0270-9163