Dive Summary:
- On Wednesday, Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) announced he would not support Ron Binz's nomination for chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
- Manchin cited Binz's record of prioritizing "renewables over reliability" and "demonizing coal and gas" as the main reasons why he thinks Binz is an "unacceptable" choice, according to a press release.
- On Thursday, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who recently introduced a bill intended to block the EPA's coming coal regulation, said he will "work to defeat" Binz's nomination for FERC chairman, according to The Hill.
Insight: Manchin was considered key to Binz's hopes of being confirmed.
According to The Hill, "[...] even if every other Energy Committee Democrat backed Binz, he would need at least one GOP supporter on the panel to avoid failing on a tied vote. [...] The panel could agree to report Binz to the full Senate without a recommendation, but such actions are rare."
Opposition to Ron Binz's nomination for chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is growing. The coal, natural gas and utility lobbies fear Obama is leading a "war on coal," sees natural gas as a short-term fuel and is accelerating a transition to an electric grid reliant on renewables and (gulp) distributed generation. The outcome of this week's battles on Capitol Hill will define U.S. energy policy for years to come.
