A Missouri appeals court panel says utility regulators had no authority to grant conditional approval for a high-voltage power line across northeastern Missouri.
The ruling Tuesday overturns an April 2016 decision by the Missouri Public Service Commission, which approved the line on the condition that an Ameren Corp. subsidiary later get consent to cross roads from the counties affected.
The appeals court says state law requires county authorization before state regulatory approval.
The 95-mile-long power line is to run through Schuyler, Adair, Knox, Shelby and Marion counties while angling from the Iowa border toward Illinois.
Tuesday's ruling also could set a precedent for how the PSC handles a pending request by Clean Line Energy for a transmission line carrying wind-generated power from Kansas across northern Missouri.
