The US Senate approved all three of President Biden’s picks to serve as commissioners on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) during the week of June 10, 2024.
The approvals allow FERC to avoid the possibility of having just two members, too few to vote on LNG export projects, natural gas pipelines, and electric reliability and transmission rules. The commission was on track to lose its voting quorum if existing Democratic Commissioner Allison Clements opted to leave when her term expires on June 30 (OGJ Online, Feb. 12, 2024).
By statute, FERC is composed of five members, with no more than three from the same political party.
Democrat David Rosner won Senate confirmation on June 11 by a vote of 68 to 26. A career FERC energy analyst, Rosner currently serves as an aide with the US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. His term will run through June 30, 2027.
Republican Lindsay See gained her seat on June 12 by a vote of 83 to 12. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recommended See, the solicitor general of West Virginia, for the term expiring on June 30, 2028 (OGJ Online, Feb. 29, 2024).
The Senate voted 63 to 33 on June 13 to approve Democrat Judy Chang, an energy economist and former undersecretary of energy and climate solutions for Massachusetts. Her term expires on June 30, 2029.
The three new commissioners will join Chairman Willie Phillips, a Democrat, who was elevated to the lead role by President Biden in February, and Republican Commissioner Mark Christie (OGJ Online, Feb. 9, 2024).
Cathy Landry | Washington Correspondent
Cathy Landry has worked over 20 years as a journalist, including 17 years as an energy reporter with Platts News Service (now S&P Global) in Washington and London.
She has served as a wire-service reporter, general news and sports reporter for local newspapers and a feature writer for association and company publications.
Cathy has deep public policy experience, having worked 15 years in Washington energy circles.
She earned a master’s degree in government from The Johns Hopkins University and studied newspaper journalism and psychology at Syracuse University.