By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Apr. 7 -- US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Pat Wood III told his staff on Apr. 7 that he will leave FERC when his term expires June 30, saying he wants to return his family to Texas.
"My career as a public servant has been guided by a firm belief that well-structured competitive markets are better than top-down regulation in delivering customer benefits and service and technological innovation," Wood said.
A Republican ally of President George W. Bush, Wood took over at FERC in 2001 (OGJ Online, Aug. 15, 2001). He succeeded Curtis Hebert, who resigned to become an executive vice-president of Entergy Corp., a New Orleans utility holding company.
Wood is Bush's longest-serving appointee, having been named to the Texas Public Service Commission in 1995 when Bush was Texas governor.
