Federal Commission Rules Against El Paso Electric In $10.6 Million Dispute
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has denied El Paso Electric Co. a rehearing of a four-year-old dispute with Tucson Electric Power Company, allowing a ruling against it to stay, according to an SEC filing.
El Paso Electric had sought a rehearing of a case that has cost it $10.6 million. El Paso Electric has 60 days from July 7, 2010 to appeal the decision to the federal court of appeals.
The dispute centers around a 1982 power and exchange agreement between El Paso Electric and the Tucson Electric Power Company and whether or not Tucson has the right to transmit 400 megawatts of power from the Luna Energy Facility, near Deming , N.M., to Springerville or Greenlee in Arizona.
El Paso Electric contends the agreement does not include such transmission rights and that Tucson needs to buy the rights in the open market.
In 2006, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruled in El Paso ‘s favor, but in a 2007 rehearing, the commission allowed Tucson to transmit up to 200 megawatts from the Luna Energy Facility to Arizona .
The commission, in a 2008 appeal by El Paso Electric, stated that the transmission rights to Tucson were firm and unrestricted. The ruling also stated Tucson could still only transmit up to 200 megawatts of power. The commission also ordered El Paso Electric to repay Tucson amounts it had made for the service since 2006 plus interest. El Paso Electric has paid Tucson $10.6 million.
