BNSF Railway Ordered To Pay $345 Million In Rate Dispute
19 2월 2009 - 10:18AM
Dow Jones News
The Surface Transportation Board on Wednesday ordered BNSF
Railway to pay $345 million in damages and rate relief to two
utilities that had challenged rates for hauling coal from mines in
Wyoming. The board said it was its single largest award to a
captive shipper.
Western Fuels Association Inc. and Basin Electric Power
Cooperative Inc. had challenged rates charged by BNSF for hauling 8
million tons of coal each year from mines in Wyoming's Powder River
Basin to an electric-generating plant in Moba Junction, Wyo.
The utility plant is captive to Burlington Northern (BNI) unit
BNSF and provides electricity to grids that serve consumers in
Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North
Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming, the Surface Transportation Board
said.
The board found the railroad's transportation rates to be
unlawfully high and ordered the company to lower the rates by
60%.
BNSF is obligated to promptly reimburse the utilities for about
$100 million in overcharges from 2004 through 2008. The exact
amount of damages will depend on the volume of coal transported
from the various Powder River Basin mines between 2004 and 2008.
Following usual practice, the board instructed the parties to
resolve the precise amount of damages due the utilities and bring
any disputes to the board's attention for resolution.
"Today's unanimous and bipartisan decision demonstrates the
board's commitment to delivering strong regulatory oversight over
the freight rail market when necessary to protect captive shippers
from monopoly pricing," board Chairman Charles D. Nottingham said
in a statement, adding that electricity customers have been
"bearing the burden of these unreasonably high transportation rates
in their monthly electric bills."
-By Josh Mitchell, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6637;
joshua.mitchell@dowjones.com