The Federal District Court in Boston ruled Aug. 27 that it does not have jurisdiction to decide whether the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) approval of a customer transition charge against MIT's cogeneration power plant by Cambridge Electric Company (CELCO) violates the national Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, which encouraged cogeneration.
MIT spokesman Kenneth Campbell said, "While MIT is disappointed, this is not a ruling on the merits of MIT's claim. The Federal Court's decision is simply a jurisdictional ruling which refers MIT to the state courts for relief. MIT will pursue its protest against the CELCO customer transition charge in state court."
Attorneys expect that the already-existing case on this issue, MIT vs. the Massachusetts DPU, will be argued before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court late this year or early next year.
