Cite as: 535 U. S. 1 (2002)
Opinion of the Court
state commerce." 16 U. S. C. § 824(b). Furthermore, § 205 of the FPA prohibited, among other things, unreasonable rates and undue discrimination "with respect to any transmission or sale subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission," 16 U. S. C. §§ 824d(a)-(b), and § 206 gave the FPC the power to correct such unlawful practices, 16 U. S. C. § 824e(a).
Since 1935, and especially beginning in the 1970's and 1980's, the number of electricity suppliers has increased dramatically. Technological advances have made it possible to generate electricity efficiently in different ways and in smaller plants.4 In addition, unlike the local power networks of the past, electricity is now delivered over three major networks, or "grids," in the continental United States. Two of these grids—the "Eastern Interconnect" and the "Western Interconnect"—are connected to each other. It is only in Hawaii and Alaska and on the "Texas Interconnect"— which covers most of that State—that electricity is distributed entirely within a single State. In the rest of the country, any electricity that enters the grid immediately becomes a part of a vast pool of energy that is constantly moving in interstate commerce.5 As a result, it is now possible for
4 In Order No. 888, FERC noted that the optimum size of electric generation plants has shifted from the larger, 500 megawatt plants (with 10-year lead time) of the past to the smaller, 50-to-150 megawatt plants (with 1-year lead time) of the present. These smaller plants can produce energy at a cost of 3-to-5 cents per kilowatt-hour, as opposed to the older plants' production cost of 4-to-15 cents per kilowatt-hour. Order No. 888, at 31,641.
5 See Brief for Respondent FERC 4-5. Over the years, FERC has described the interconnected grids in a number of proceedings. For example, in 1967, the FPC considered whether Florida Power & Light Co. (FPL)—a utility attached to what was then the regional grid for the southeastern United States—transmitted energy in interstate commerce as a result of that attachment. The FPC concluded that FPL's transmissions were in interstate commerce: "[S]ince electric energy can be delivered virtually instantaneously when needed on a system at a speed of 186,000
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