FERC regains quorum as Chatterjee, Powelson are sworn in

Aug. 11, 2017
The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regained its quorum after 6 months as its two newest members, Neil Chatterjee and Robert F. Powelson, were sworn in on Aug. 8 and 10, respectively.

The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regained its quorum after 6 months as its two newest members, Neil Chatterjee and Robert F. Powelson, were sworn in on Aug. 8 and 10, respectively.

Chatterjee became chairman on Aug. 10 until the US Senate can confirm another nominee, Kevin McIntyre, who is in line for the position, when it returns from its August recess. The Senate also is expected to vote on an additional nominee, Richard Glick, at that time.

Chatterjee immediately announced that FERC will resume its monthly open meetings on Sept. 20 and the commission soon will begin to vote notationally on orders that have accumulated since it lost its quorum when member Norman C. Bay’s resignation became effective on Feb. 1.

FERC’s fifth member, Cheryl A. LaFleur, became acting chairman at that time and the independent federal regulatory agency acted under limited delegated authority. The delegation period, which began Feb. 1, will end on Aug. 24, 14 days after FERC’s quorum was reestablished.

Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].

About the Author

Nick Snow

NICK SNOW covered oil and gas in Washington for more than 30 years. He worked in several capacities for The Oil Daily and was founding editor of Petroleum Finance Week before joining OGJ as its Washington correspondent in September 2005 and becoming its full-time Washington editor in October 2007. He retired from OGJ in January 2020.