State Ex Rel. Utilities Commission v. Carolina Utility Customers Ass'n

SMITH, Judge.

Movant Gas Research Institute (GRI) is a non-profit organization that manages cooperative research and development programs in the natural gas industry. Prior to 1999, GRI was funded primarily by surcharges collected by interstate pipelines from natural gas local distribution companies (LDCs) pursuant to tariffs approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The surcharges were, in turn, passed through to retail customers as part of the LDC’s gas costs, pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 62-133.4 (1999).

In 1998, the FERC approved an agreement, which gradually reduced the…