Util. L. Rep. P 13,958 City of Albany, Illinois v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

EASTERBROOK, Circuit Judge.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission permits utilities to vary the price of electricity as the price of fuel fluctuates. This poses the question: what outlays count toward the price of fuel? Many of a utility’s costs are related to fuel; how close must this relation be? A great deal of money may ride on the answer, making flexibility an invitation to endless litigation. The FERC’s approach has been to use accounting categories, devised for ease of administration rather than precise correspondence to economic costs. Whatever goes into Account 151 (18 C.F.R. §…