May acid rain legislation excuse performance obligations under coal contracts
- Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer Feld, Washington, DC (United States)
The Clean Air Act Amendments of1990 (CAAA) require 111 electric utility plants to reduce significantly their emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides by January 1, 1995. Further reductions of these emissions by all electric utilities will be required prior to January 1, 2000. Many electric utilities find themselves unable to utilize coal purchased under long-term contracts before the enactment of the CAAA unless they make significant and costly modifications to their generating facilities and/or purchase sulfur dioxide allowances. The act of installing new equipment to meet the requirements may cause a utility to be unable to meet its annual purchase agreements. The purpose of this article is to review the extent to which the acid rain provisions of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 may give rise to a claim of force majeure, commercial impracticability or frustration of purpose. An extensive body of case law exists concerning the applicability of the doctrine of force majeure, commercial impracticability, and frustration of purpose to governmental actions affecting a buyer's ability to take a commodity purchased under a long-term contract. This case law should provide guidance to the analysis and resolution of claims asserted by electric utilities as a result of their inability, due to compliance with the CAAA, to take coal under long-term contracts.
- OSTI ID:
- 5614443
- Journal Information:
- Energy Law Journal; (United States), Vol. 14:2; ISSN 0270-9163
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
POLICY AND ECONOMY
01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
CLEAN AIR ACTS
ECONOMIC IMPACT
LEGAL ASPECTS
COAL
CONTRACTS
ACID RAIN
AGREEMENTS
AMENDMENTS
CASE LAW
COMPLIANCE
ELECTRIC UTILITIES
LEGISLATION
NITROGEN OXIDES
SULFUR DIOXIDE
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHALCOGENIDES
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
LAWS
MATERIALS
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION LAWS
PUBLIC UTILITIES
RAIN
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR OXIDES
293000* - Energy Planning & Policy- Policy
Legislation
& Regulation
294001 - Energy Planning & Policy- Coal
015000 - Coal
Lignite
& Peat- Economic
Industrial
& Business Aspects