Judge Morrison C. England, Chief Judge of the United States District Court, Eastern District of California, has granted summary judgment in favor of Lassen Municipal Utility District in the case of Amedee Geothermal Venture v. Lassen Municipal Utility District.
The case centered on the terms of two agreements between Lassen Municipal Utility District and Amedee Geothermal executed in 1987 and 1988. Under the terms of these agreements, essentially, LMUD agreed to supply Amedee Geothermal the electricity it needed, and to transmit the electricity the geothermal power plant produced to PG&E, in exchange for a fee.
According to the judicial summary of the case Amedee Geothermal relies on LMUD to provide the electrical power it needs to operate the motors at its geothermal power plant which it then uses to generate geothermal electricity.
The geothermal company also relies on LMUD’s transmission lines to deliver the electricity it generates to Pacific Gas & Electric, Co.
The dispute surrounded whether the agreements required LMUD to continuously supply Amedee Geothermal 34.5 kv electricity, and a controversy arose in 2009 when LMUD converted the electricity supply line from 34.5 kv to 12.47 kv.
The crux of the case hinged on the geothermal company’s assertion that by changing the voltage the Utility District breached its contractual obligations under the agreement.
LMUD countered, according to court records, that the agreement did not obligate the utility to continuously provide electricity at the 34.5 kv level.
Judge England’s conclusion in granting the summary judgment motion, filed by LMUD’s attorneys, stated that the LMUD motion for summary judgment is granted as to the plaintiff’s federal claims; plaintiff’s state law claims are dismissed without prejudice; plaintiff’s motions for partial summary judgment are denied as moot; and the clerk of the court is directed to close the case.
LMUD General Manager Bill Stewart said, “LMUD is pleased that Judge England ruled in favor of the District’s motion. It has been an arduous process to this point.”
To read more about the case in detail, click here and download Judge England’s Memorandum and Order filed on November 27th.
