Sierra Club v. Public Service Commission of West Virginia

HUTCHISON, Justice:

In this appeal from the Public Service Commission ("the PSC"), we are asked to examine the PSC's interpretation and application of regulations it adopted to give effect to the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, also called "PURPA." In two orders that are under appeal, the PSC interpreted its PURPA-based regulations as applying to a voluntary agreement between a small power plant and a traditional electric utility, and applied the regulations to find that the agreement, with modification, was just and reasonable to the electric utility's consumers.

We find no…