How the Filed Rate Doctrine Wreaks Havoc with Energy Market Development and Policy … And What Courts Can Do about It

As we implement competition policy for electric power markets, judicial enforcement of remedies for market abuses based on violations of antitrust, tort, and contract law can play an important role in protecting public welfare. To the extent the filed rate doctrine privileges private choice over assessment of the public interest in choosing the mechanism for enforcement, courts should refuse to apply it automatically to preclude judicial enforcement.