CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

ENERGY EAST CORPORATION v. U.S.

ENERGY EAST CORPORATION, Plaintiff,
v.
THE UNITED STATES, Defendant.

No. 07-812T.

United States Court of Federal Claims.

March 11, 2010.

Invoking § 6621(d), Plaintiff seeks a net rate of zero interest on its 1999 deficiency to the extent that its underpayment was outstanding and overlapped with the 1995-1997 overpayments made by CMP and RG&E. As a predicate for this recovery, Plaintiff claims that Energy East and its subsidiaries were the "same taxpayer" within the meaning of § 6621(d) because they later became members of a consolidated group, which enabled them to file a consolidated return for income tax purposes and made them jointly and severally liable for each other=s tax liabilities.

Because these subsidiaries were separate and different taxpayers wholly unrelated to Energy East both at the time the underpayment was due and the overpayments were made, the Court concludes they were not the "same taxpayer" as Energy East within the meaning of § 6621(d). As such, interest netting is not available, and the Court enters summary judgment for Defendant.

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