The U.S. Senate confirmed three nominees to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission — one on Thursday and two on Wednesday — a move that will restore the agency to its full complement of five commissioners.
FERC has been operating with three commissioners since former Commissioner James Danly left in January. The agency had an empty seat in the year before that after former Chairman Richard Glick left in January 2023.
The new commissioners — who must be sworn in before they take their seats — are Judy Chang, a managing principal at the Boston-based Analysis Group and former undersecretary of energy and climate solutions for Massachusetts under former Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican; David Rosner, a FERC energy industry analyst on loan to the Democratic staff of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for the last two years; and Lindsay See, the West Virginia solicitor general. See is a Republican; Chang and Rosner are Democrats.
Rosner’s term is set to end on June 30, 2027. See’s term expires a year later and Chang’s term runs to June 30, 2029.
“As I have said many times, the commission works best when it has five members, so I look forward to welcoming them to the commission so we can work collaboratively to ensure reliable, affordable and sustainable energy for all consumers,” FERC Chairman Willie Phillips said in a statement.
Besides Phillips, the new commissioners join Commissioner Mark Christie, a Republican, at the agency. Commissioner Allison Clements’ term ends at the end of this month and she expects the agency’s June 27 open meeting will be her last open meeting as a commissioner.
The new commissioners will play a key role in ensuring a reliable, affordable and modern grid while fully weighing the climate and community impacts of gas infrastructure projects, according to Earthjustice, an environmental group.
“Now that vacancies have been filled, FERC must double down on its work to accelerate the expansion of transmission infrastructure and the connection of renewables to the grid,” Jill Tauber, Earthjustice vice president of litigation for climate and energy said in a statement. “FERC must also evaluate and weigh the full impact of gas projects on communities, consumers, and the environment, and center environmental and economic justice in its decision-making.”
