Cite as: 535 U. S. 1 (2002)
Opinion of Thomas, J.
a bundled retail sale, we nevertheless conclude that the agency had discretion to decline to assert such jurisdiction in this proceeding in part because of the complicated nature of the jurisdictional issues." Ante, at 28.
This explanation is wholly unsatisfying, both because the Court's reliance on FERC's statement fails to take into account the unambiguous language of the statute and because FERC has given various inconsistent explanations of its jurisdiction.
1
FERC's statement implies that its decision not to regulate was based, at least in part, both on a determination that the statute is ambiguous and on a determination that certain interstate transmission may fall outside of its jurisdiction. The FPA, however, unambiguously grants FERC jurisdiction over the interstate transmission of electric energy in interstate commerce. 16 U. S. C. § 824(b)(1). As the Court notes, "[t]here is no language in the statute limiting FERC's transmission jurisdiction to the wholesale market." Ante, at 17. The Court correctly recognizes that "the FPA authorizes FERC's jurisdiction over interstate transmissions, without regard to whether the transmissions are sold to a reseller or directly to a consumer." Ante, at 20.
Similarly, although FERC draws a jurisdictional line between transmission used in connection with bundled and un-bundled retail sales, the statute makes no such distinction. The terms "bundled" and "unbundled" are not found in the statute.9 The only jurisdictional line that the statute draws with regard to transmission is between interstate and intrastate. See § 824(b)(1). Congress does not qualify its grant
9 The difference between the two types of sales is that with an unbundled retail sale, a utility, either voluntarily or pursuant to state law, presents separate charges for the electricity, the transmission service, and the delivery service. In a bundled sale, all components are combined as one charge. See Brief for Petitioner in No. 00-809, at 4-5.
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