Judge Donald Johnson, of the Louisiana 19th Judicial District Court (“JDC”), granted an appeal of a final order of the Louisiana Pilotage Fee Commission (“PFC”) in Docket No. P20-001, that approved numerous rate increases for the Crescent River Port Pilots’ Association (“CRPPA”). The appeal was jointly filed by

The following is prepared by the Kean Miller LLP Utilities Regulation team on important topics affecting consumers of electrical power in Louisiana related to recent and current proceedings of the Louisiana Public Service Commission (“LPSC”). For more information, please contact us at client_services@keanmiller.com


LPSC Rulemaking on Customer-Centered Options: The LPSC has a proceeding underway to

The following is prepared by the Kean Miller LLP Utilities Regulation team on important topics affecting consumers of electrical power in Louisiana.  For more information, please contact us at client_services@keanmiller.com

LPSC Rulemaking on Demand Response:  In February 2019, the LPSC opened a rulemaking to determine the need for and develop rate schedules and programs offering

The Louisiana Public Service Commission (“LPSC”) voted at its meeting on September 20, 2017, to reconsider and approve adoption of proposed rules that provide guidelines for certification of motor carriers of waste and create a rebuttal presumption that granting a certificate is in the public interest if the applicant has met the application requirements.  Under

The Louisiana Public Service Commission (“LPSC”) and the State Legislature are conflicted over regulation of motor carriers of waste in Louisiana.  While the Louisiana Constitution grants the LPSC the authority to regulate common carriers, and the LPSC oversees the certification and permitting of such carriers, in the 2017 Regular Session the Legislature enacted Senate Bill

President Obama’s centerpiece of his climate policy agenda, the “Clean Power Plan,” has become one of the most heavily litigated environmental regulations ever. Twenty-seven states and numerous industry groups have filed more than fifteen separate lawsuits challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) statutory authority to promulgate the regulations.   Seventeen states, the District of Columbia, the

The Internal Revenue Service (the “Service”) released a Private Letter Ruling (“PLR”) earlier this year addressing private business use of a mixed-use output facility and whether tax-exempt bonds could be used to finance improvements to the facility.  The Issuer, which is a political subdivision of a state, owns electric generation, transmission and distribution facilities that

The Louisiana Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision clearing the way for the City of Lafayette to issue bonds to finance its Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTP) Project. As described by the Court, FTTH technology delivers telecommunications services via fiber optic cables to every home and business in the covered area. In contrast, a more traditional system delivers services to a distant point, with the remaining distance to each home and business being covered by technically inferior and bandwidth-limiting copper (telephone) wires. The decision ends eighteen months of litigation, starting after the citizens of Lafayette voted 62% to 38% in a July 16, 2005 election to issue up to $125 million in bonds for the Project. Project opponents filing suit to block the bond issuance included the incumbent cable and telephone companies, as well as two Lafayette residents. For additional news articles relating to the decision, see http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070223/NEWS01/702230321/1002 and http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/6008236.html
Continue Reading Louisiana Supreme Court Approves Lafayette’s Fiber-to-the-Home Bond Ordinance

On November 17, 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Standards of Conduct as applied to interstate natural gas pipelines. These Standards of Conduct, which are set forth in Order No. 2004 and codified at 18 CFR Part 358, govern the relationship between an interstate natural gas pipeline and various affiliates. The Court found that FERC’s effort to expand the pre-existing standards of conduct beyond relationships between an interstate natural gas pipeline and its marketing affiliates was not supported by record evidence. It is not clear if or when the Commission will revisit Order 2004 and how it will attempt to address the infirmities cited by the Court. It is worth noting that the current Chairman of the Commission, Joseph Kelliher, issued a strong dissent when Order 2004 was originally enacted and argued in favor of keeping the Standards of Conduct applicable only to marketing affiliates of interstate pipelines.
Continue Reading D.C. Court of Appeals Vacates FERC Standards of Conduct for Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines

The Louisiana Supreme Court has affirmed an order of the Louisiana Public Service Commission establishing a state universal service fee for telecommunications service providers operating in the state. T-Mobile, a wireless provider operating in Louisiana, appealed the LPSC’s order, arguing that the USF fee constituted a tax and, thus, the LPSC lacked jurisdictional authority to