San Isabel Electric Association, Inc. v. the Public Utilities Commission of the State of Colorado Jeffrey Ackermann…

Summary

The court affirmed the district court’s judgment upholding the PUC’s determination that San Isabel’s certificates did not give it the exclusive right to supply station power to Black Hills’s wind facilities. Because Black Hills self-supplied the power from its own generation and transmission resources, the court treated the arrangement as not involving a sale or traditional retail electric service, and therefore not within San Isabel’s certificated rights. The court also held that the PUC interpreted rather than reduced San Isabel’s certificated territory, so the statutory hearing procedure for deleting territory did not apply, and San Isabel had no property right supporting a due process claim.