Phoenix Power Partners, L.P. v. Colorado Public Utilities Commission

This ease requires that we decide whether the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) acted within its authority when, by order, it excused the Public Service Company of Colorado (PSCo) from its, obligation to purchase electricity under a contract with Phoenix Power Partners, LP (Phoenix). Under the contract, as amended or substituted in 1993, PSCo agreed to a locked-in price and undertook a business risk that market prices would be lower at the time of delivery and, conversely, stood to benefit if prices were to rise. At the same time, of course, the contract represented a, promise upon which…