Federal Power Commission v. Florida Power & Light Co.

Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) (defendant) was an electric utility. FPL’s equipment and property were all located in Florida. FPL was interconnected with several other utilities within Florida including the Florida Power Corporation (Corp). FPL exported power to a bus (one or more conductors that collect and distribute electrical currents), which is the connection point between FPL and Corp. Power left the bus for out-of-state utilities at the same time FPL’s power entered the bus. The power was commingled from all sources. Corp interconnected with Georgia Power Company, an out-of-state utility. Also, as a member of the Florida Pool, FPL was a member of the Interconnected Systems Group (ISG). The ISG was a national group of utilities that shared power in the event of an emergency. On at least one occasion, FPL contributed to the ISG during an event in which an out-of-state utility drew power from the ISG system. Section 201(b) of the Federal Power Act provided that the Federal Power Commission (the commission) (plaintiff) had jurisdiction over energy transmitted in interstate commerce. Energy transmitted in interstate commerce is energy that is transmitted within a state and consumed outside of the state. In a hearing, the commission determined that FPL was subject to the commission’s jurisdiction because the energy that FPL generated was transmitted in interstate commerce. The court of appeals rejected the commission’s determination. The commission appealed.