President Trump announces intent to nominate two new FERC members

President Donald Trump announced Monday his intent to nominate Robert Powelson and Neil Chaterjee to be members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which would reestablish a quorum at the agency.

As FERC currently lacks a quorum, with three vacancies on the five-member commission, it has been restricted in its ability to take certain actions. FERC commissioners are appointed by the President and
must be approved by the Senate.

Commissioner Colette Honorable also recently announced that she would not seek another term once her term expires at the end of June.

Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) President David Holt issued a statement on the prospective nominations, also sending a letter to Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), urging the Senate to move quickly to evaluate FERC nominees.

“FERC plays a key role in evaluating and approving critical energy infrastructure projects,” Holt said. “The lack of a quorum has limited the Commission’s ability to act on these projects. We are extremely pleased to see President Trump recently nominate two highly-qualified individuals to fill the vacancies on the Commission and urge the Senate to move quickly in holding hearings to evaluate these nominees and move them toward what we hope will be a swift confirmation process.”

Robert F. Powelson of Pennsylvania would be nominated to a term ending June 30, 2020. Powelson has served as a Commissioner on the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) since 2008. He also currently serves as the president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) based in Washington, DC, as well as on the Electric Power Research Institute Advisory Board (EPRI) and the Drexel University Board of Trustees.

Neil Chatterjee of Kentucky would be nominated for a term expiring June 30, 2021. Chatterjee is energy policy advisor to United States Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Prior to his current position, he worked as a Principal in Government Relations for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) and as an aide to House Republican Conference Chairwoman Deborah Pryce of Ohio.