Biden nominates three new FERC commissioners
The White House announced on Feb. 29 that President Joe Biden intends to nominate three new commissioners to fill vacant positions at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC): Democrats Judy Chang and David Rosner and Republican Lindsay See.
FERC currently has three members and Democratic Commissioner Allison Clements’ term expires in June. If the three new nominees are confirmed by the Senate, then the agency would have a full slate of five members again. Democrat Willie L. Phillips serves as chair of FERC.
“A fully seated, bipartisan FERC provides more opportunity for advancing long-lasting, sensible energy infrastructure policy. As Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, I look forward to reviewing the qualifications of the three individuals nominated today to be FERC Commissioners and assessing their commitment to American energy security,” said U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV).
Chang joins FERC from Massachusetts, where she was Undersecretary of Energy and Climate Solutions. In that role, Chang helped set policies across the state’s energy sector and align strategies to meet legal requirements for climate change mitigation. Overall, Chang has been an energy economics and policy expert for more than 20 years, working with energy companies, trade associations, and governments on regulatory and financial issues related to energy transmission, clean energy, and energy storage, among others. In addition, she has been an Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, an ambassador for the US Department of Energy’s Clean Energy Education & Empowerment Initiative, and a founding board member of New England Women in Energy and the Environment. She holds a Master of Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School and a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from UC Davis.
Rosner has worked as an energy industry analyst for FERC and is currently on detail to the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Democratic staff. During his time at FERC, Rosner helped develop rulemaking on energy storage resources, electric transmission, offshore wind integration, fuel security, and natural gas-electric coordination. Before that, Rosner served as a senior policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis and an associate director at the Bipartisan Policy Center’s energy project. Overall, Rosner has 15 years of experience across energy technologies, market design, and energy policy issues, both in and outside of government. Rosner holds degrees in economics and public policy.
See joins from West Virginia, where she is the Solicitor General, managing appellate and high-stakes litigation for the State of West Virginia. In this role, her work focuses on regulatory and administrative law matters, and she regularly appears before the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia and the Fourth Circuit, as well as other state and federal courts. Also, See works with multi-state coalitions on a variety of national issues. Previously, See previously practiced appellate and administrative law for several years with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Washington, D.C. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and clerked for the Hon. Thomas B. Griffith on the D.C. Circuit.
FERC is an independent agency that regulates the interstate transmission of natural gas, oil, electricity, and other energy projects. FERC will maintain an important role in spurring access to reliable, affordable clean energy as the Biden Administration works to tackle the climate crisis, advance environmental justice, and create a clean electricity grid by 2035.
“We are encouraged that the White House has started this important nomination process,” said Amy Andryszak, President & CEO of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA). “Vacancies at FERC potentially risk the development of the energy infrastructure needed to deliver natural gas to American homes and businesses and to our allies abroad.”
