Appellate Court Upholds FERC Incentive Denial for Ohio Utility

Ohio utility company Dayton Power & Light Co. failed to convince a federal appeals court Friday to reverse a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s decision to reject a financial incentive allowing it to charge higher wholesale electricity rates.

The ruling from a three-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld FERC’s policy requiring utilities to voluntarily join “regional transmission organizations,” which operate local electric grids and increase competition, in order to qualify for financial incentives.

Dayton Power, however, was required to join an regional transmission organization under Ohio law, and it couldn’t qualify for the incentive ...