⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit hears a challenge to the Bonneville Power Administration's decision to pursue participation in a day-ahead electricity market called Markets Plus. The petitioners are five conservation and utility-customer groups, including the N.W. Energy Coalition and the Sierra Club. They contend that B.P.A.'s policy directive violates two federal statutes. First, they argue that the Northwest Power Act requires any B.P.A. action under Section 839 D to be consistent with the region's power plan, which emphasizes cost savings and environmental protection, but that B.P.A. failed to analyze whether its choice complies with that plan. Second, they say the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, required an environmental review before B.P.A. committed to Markets Plus. The agency responds that it has not yet made a binding decision to join, that its policy is merely a business strategy pointing in one direction, and that the relevant statutes do not apply because day-ahead market participation is an interregional exchange, not a resource acquisition. The case turns on whether B.P.A.'s policy is a final decision a court can review, whether the petitioners have standing to bring the challenge, and what the two statutes require. The panel presses both sides on timing, cost commitments, and the practical consequences of vacatur.

NW Energy Coalition v. Bonneville Power Administration (No. 25-4278) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, argued August 6, 2026.