Alliant Energy v. Nebraska Public Power District

In Alliant Energy v. Nebraska Public Power District, 347 F.3d 1046 (8th Cir.2003), the Nebraska Public Power District ("NPPD"), a non-jurisdictional governmental utility, signed a usage agreement with the members of the Mid-Continent Area Power Pool ("MAPP"), a voluntary association of energy companies. A section of the agreement allowed MAPP members (a group that now included NPPD) to collect tariffs for non-MAPP members' use of their system. See id. at 1049. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order requiring the MAPP to remove this section and retroactively ordered the MAPP members to refund the tariffs. See id. When the NPPD refused to comply with FERC's modification of the agreement on the ground that FERC had no jurisdiction over the NPPD, the remaining MAPP members sued the NPPD. The Eighth Circuit held that because the enabling agreement provided that its terms are subject to regulatory authorities, see id. at 1050, the NPPD bound itself to any modification of the agreement ordered by FERC, and therefore, was contractually required to refund appropriate charges pursuant to FERC's order, see id. But Alliant Energy involved a judicial order of refunds, and not an agency order. FERC had not ordered the NPPD to pay a refund, but stated only that the NPPD was contractually required to do so. See id. at 1050-51. The Eighth Circuit clearly held that "we are not enforcing the FERC order; instead, we are enforcing an agreement, which NPPD freely entered." Id.