Finding that the underlying action was tantamount to unlawful retroactive rate making, the Ohio Supreme Court has sent back to the Ohio Public Utilities Commission a 2013 decision in which the commission had required FirstEnergy Corporation’s Ohio affiliates to return to their customers more than $43 million for what the commission deemed to be excessively priced purchases of renewable energy credits (RECs) dating back to 2010. In its decision, the commission said that an audit had revealed that some of the utilities’ REC purchases had not been prudent and therefore must be disallowed.

In a tentative decision, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has disclosed how it intends to oversee future water, wastewater, and storm water services provided by entities created by Pennsylvania cities of the second class — specifically, the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA). The ruling proposes methods for rate making, tariff approval, compliance plans, infrastructure improvements, consumer protections, and other implementation issues. The commission asked that interested parties and stakeholders submit comments and input on the commission’s plans.

Commissioner Andy Tobin of the Arizona Corporation Commission released a statement proposing a series of reforms relating to the continued promotion of renewable energy in the state.

In urging the full commission to consider his plan, the commissioner said that he is striving to have Arizona’s economy run on 80% clean energy by 2050. In support of that ambitious goal, Commissioner Tobin pointed out that Arizona’s electric utilities are already transitioning away from coal and are expanding their use of renewables, energy efficiency, and storage.

In looking at a petition filed by a group of landholders seeking a preliminary injunction against the construction of a nearby interstate natural gas pipeline, a federal district court in Ohio reached the same conclusion as had a federal district court in Virginia in December, namely, that federal district courts are without jurisdiction to entertain appeals of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) certificate decisions with respect to pipeline projects.