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Constitutional Limitations On The Ability Of States To Rehabilitate Their Failed Electric Utility Restructuring Plans, James M. Van Nostrand
Constitutional Limitations On The Ability Of States To Rehabilitate Their Failed Electric Utility Restructuring Plans, James M. Van Nostrand
Seattle University Law Review
This Article will review the constitutional limitations that come into play when a state seeks to rehabilitate its failed electric utility restructuring plan. Under the Constitution, utilities are entitled to earn a reasonable return on the assets devoted to public service. A situation in which retail rates are frozen may result in denial of a compensatory return if the electric utility is incurring higher costs to generate or procure its power supply. This is the traditional "takings" argument based on the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, as applied to the states under the Fourteenth Amendment. Apart from this commonly asserted …