The White House on Thursday said it intends to nominate two Democrats and a Republican to be commissioners on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, a first step in filling the agency’s five seats.
The nominees are Judy Chang, a managing principal at the Boston-based Analysis Group and former undersecretary of energy and climate solutions for Massachusetts; David Rosner, a FERC energy industry analyst on loan to the Democratic staff of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee; and Lindsay See, the West Virginia solicitor general. See is a Republican; Chang and Rosner are Democrats.
See argued a case — West Virginia v. EPA — at the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to curb the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The court in June 2022 ruled that the EPA cannot set fleet-wide greenhouse gas emissions limits for existing power plants under the Clean Air Act’s Section 111(d).
“She is well positioned to ensure that FERC faithfully adheres to its mission of supporting the abundant supply of American natural gas and electricity,” Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. and ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said Friday.
While serving as a state official in Massachusetts from June 2020 to January 2023, Chang helped set energy sector policies, including aligning decarbonization and climate mitigation plans. She was a principal at the Brattle Group, a consulting firm, from 1997 to May 2020, according to her LinkedIn page. Chang has a degree in electrical engineering and computer science.
Rosner joined FERC’s Office of Energy Policy and Innovation in 2017, according to his LinkedIn page. He has been on loan to the Senate committee since May 2022 handling issues related to FERC, electricity and electric transmission.
While at FERC, Rosner led efforts on FERC’s rulemaking on energy storage resources, electric transmission, offshore wind integration, fuel security and natural gas-electric coordination, the White House said.
Before starting at FERC, Rosner worked in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Climate and Environmental Analysis and at the Bipartisan Policy Center.
“Rosner and Chang fit the conventional mold of candidates who have engaged extensively at FERC," said Devin Hartman, director of energy and environmental policy at the R Street Institute, a free market oriented think tank. "See's background is less common for a FERC nominee, and reflects Republicans' concern of federal overreach of executive agencies."
The nominees would fill FERC’s two vacant seats, plus the one held by Commissioner Allison Clements who this month said she will not seek a second term. Her term ends on June 30, but she can remain through the year.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said he looked forward to reviewing the nominees. "A fully-seated, bipartisan FERC provides more opportunity for advancing long-lasting, sensible energy infrastructure policy,” Manchin said in a statement.
After it receives the nominations, Manchin’s committee will hold a confirmation hearing to review the nominees and, if approved by the panel, they will go to a vote by the full Senate. That process could be slowed if a Senator objects to any of the nominees, according to William Scherman, a Vinson & Elkins partner and former FERC general counsel.
Manchin could schedule a hearing in a few weeks, which at the earliest could lead the nominees to be seated in May, ClearView Energy Partners said Friday in a client note. However, ongoing efforts by the Senate and House to reach an agreement on appropriations could slow the process, according to the consulting firm.
“We think the slate of nominees — as a package — may prove less controversial than other Biden administration selections,” ClearView said.
The candidates are well qualified and will likely be confirmed, according to Neil Chatterjee, a former FERC chairman who is now a senior advisor with Hogan Lovells. “There may be some political machinations, but I think all three will be confirmed,” he said.
However, former FERC Chairman Rich Glick said he doubts the Senate Energy Committee will be ready to hold a confirmation hearing in the near term because the candidates will have to complete their paperwork and have this information reviewed by the Office of Government Ethics before the Biden administration can officially send the nominations to the Senate.
“The process could be further complicated by election-year politics,” Glick said. “Some Republicans could seek to delay action based on their views of the prospects for Republican control of the White House and the Senate next year, which would allow for a Republican majority on FERC. But with the prospect of FERC losing a quorum, pressure will be on both parties to act before Commissioner Clements departs the commission.”
If approved, it will take time for the nominees to come up to speed at FERC, including assembling staffs, Scherman said, adding that they already have “a fair amount of background” on the issues.
The nominees would join a commission focused on transmission planning and cost allocation reform. Other top priorities for FERC this year include continued efforts to improve the interconnection process, consideration of expanded transmission ties between regions and possible power market reforms.
The last time three people were nominated at once to FERC was in 1998, according to Scherman.
Potentially, the nominations may signal that the White House is worried FERC could lose its quorum if Clements leaves before the vacant seats are filled, he said. Without at least three commissioners, the remaining commissioners would be unable to vote on orders, which Scherman said would lead to “awful, awful chaos.”
Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program, contends the nominations are part of a deal between the White House and Manchin related to the Biden administration’s pause on reviewing liquefied natural gas export permitting.
In exchange for not opposing the LNG permit review pause, the White House acceded to Manchin’s preferences on FERC commissioners. “The White House just gave FERC to Joe Manchin,” he said.
The White House decision to elevate FERC Chairman Willie Phillips from an “acting” designation last month and Clements decision the same day were connected, according to Slocum. Likely, Manchin told the White House he wouldn’t advance Clements for a second term, as he did when he scuttled Glick’s nomination for a second term in 2022, Slocum said.
