Direct Energy Services, LLC v. Public Utilities Regulatory Authority

Summary

The court affirmed the judgment upholding PURA’s geographic and marketing restrictions for voluntary renewable offers. It held that the geographic restriction is subject to and survives deferential Pike balancing because the relevant regional renewable-energy market serves Connecticut’s environmental and public-health interests, and it held that the marketing restriction neither substantially conflicts with other regulatory regimes nor imposes a clearly excessive interstate burden. The court declined to reach the plaintiffs’ free-speech and contract claims because they were not preserved before PURA and rejected their procedural challenges under the UAPA.