Antero overturns agency ratemaking order in D.C. Circuit

Client(s) Antero Resources Corporation

On behalf of Antero Resources Corporation ("Antero"), Jones Day secured a D.C. Circuit decision overturning a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order imposing significant fuel charges on the company for transporting its natural gas on the Tennessee Gas Pipeline.

When the pipeline proposed significant increases in Antero's fuel rates in 2020 and in 2021, following an expansion project funded by Antero, Jones Day stepped in to assist Antero with challenging the proposals before FERC, ultimately taking the issue to trial before the agency. Although FERC approved the charges over Antero's objection, Jones Day sought and secured a published decision from the D.C. Circuit opining that FERC's order arbitrarily and capriciously departed from the cornerstone principle of cost-causation—that those who cause the costs should pay them.

This was a significant win for Antero and a reaffirmation of the requirement that FERC provide a reasoned basis for its decisions.

Antero Resources Corporation v. FERC, No. 24-1076 (D.C. Cir.)