President Trump nominated new commissioners to the nation’s energy grid watchdog late Monday after the agency had to be effectively shut down because it didn’t have enough members.
The White House chose Neil Chatterjee, energy policy adviser to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and Robert Powelson, a Pennsylvania state enegry regulator, to serve on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Both candidates had been anticipated for months after the five-member commission was forced to close down its decision-making capabilities after losing most of its members. The commission oversees the nation’s wholesale electricity and natural gas markets. It is also critical to getting new interstate gas pipelines built and natural gas export terminals sited.
The commission requires at least three of its five-member panel to be filled to function. It has been with only two commissioners since February, forcing acting Chairwoman Cheryl LaFleur to issue an emergency order shuttering FERC’s decision-making capacity and placing senior staff in charge of day-to-day operations.
Powelson and Chatterjee will have to go through the Senate confirmation process. Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairwoman Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, had said she will make their confirmations a top priority.
Having a working commission is thought to be key to moving forward with Trump’s infrastructure and energy priorities. The natural gas and pipeline industry has raised that factor with the president directly over the last three months in a number of letters.
