Ls Power Midcontinent, LLC and Southwest Transmission, LLC v. State

Summary

The court affirmed a permanent injunction barring the State, the Iowa Utilities Board, and incumbent utilities from proceeding with transmission projects awarded under an unconstitutional right-of-first-refusal statute unless the projects are competitively rebid. It held that the statute was void ab initio, that Iowa courts had subject matter jurisdiction to remedy the state constitutional violation, and that the injunction could reach projects awarded while the constitutional challenge was pending. The court declined to decide remaining federal-law issues, leaving them for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.