New York v. FERC, 535 U.S. 1, 15 (2002)

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Cite as: 535 U. S. 1 (2002)

Opinion of the Court

the regulation of wholesale transactions and "assert[ing] jurisdiction over all unbundled retail transmissions." Id., at 691, 692. The Court of Appeals concluded that the plain language of § 201 of the FPA, which this Court has construed broadly,10 supported FERC's regulation of transmissions in interstate commerce that were part of unbundled retail sales, as § 201 gives FERC jurisdiction over the "transmission of electric energy in interstate commerce." 16 U. S. C. § 824(b)(1). Even if the FPA were ambiguous, the Court of Appeals explained that, given the technological complexities of the national grids, it would have deferred to the Commission's interpretation of § 201 "as giving it jurisdiction over both wholesale and retail transmissions." 225 F. 3d, at 694.

The Court of Appeals next addressed the complaints of transmission-dependent producers and wholesalers that Order No. 888 did not "go far enough." Id., at 692. The Court of Appeals was not persuaded that FERC's assertion of jurisdiction over unbundled retail transmission required FERC to assert jurisdiction over bundled retail transmissions or to mandate unbundling of retail transmissions. Id., at 694. Noting that the FPA "clearly contemplates state jurisdiction over local distribution facilities and retail sales," the Court of Appeals held:

"A regulator could reasonably construe transmissions bundled with generation and delivery services and sold to a consumer for a single charge as either transmission services in interstate commerce or as an integral component of a retail sale. Yet FERC has jurisdiction over one, while the states have jurisdiction over the other. FERC's decision to characterize bundled transmissions as part of retail sales subject to state jurisdiction therefore represents a statutorily permissible policy choice to which we must also defer under Chevron [U. S. A. Inc.

10 See FPC v. Florida Power & Light Co., 404 U. S. 453 (1972); Jersey Central Power & Light Co. v. FPC, 319 U. S. 61 (1943).

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