States Sue FERC Over Surcharge

AP via Boston.com:

Connecticut and Massachusetts are taking federal energy regulators to court over a surcharge that will cost electricity consumers in both states hundreds of millions of dollars over the next four years.

The states filed a lawsuit Dec. 28 in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. They're seeking to stop the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from imposing the surcharge, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Thursday.

The fee was designed to encourage development of new power plants to help meet growing demand, but Blumenthal said the money will go to existing power generators without requiring them to build new plants or produce more electricity.