President Joe Biden’s three nominees to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission were questioned by a U.S. Senate committee on Thursday, with senators sharing their views on fossil fuels and climate policy, the reliability of the nation’s electric grid and gas distribution system, and how to address the Urgent needs discussed, among other things, for fresh electrical transmission lines.
A major immaculate energy industry group is worried about a political dispute that could leave the crucial energy regulator without quorum during a major power grid transition. called The Senate must confirm the nominees quickly.
Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat and influential chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has done so collided During the hearing, he called the commission’s work “tremendously important” to the nation.
“The Commission’s mission is to ensure the orderly development of abundant supplies of electricity and natural gas at reasonable prices,” Manchin said. “It allows us to keep the lights on, protects the American people from excessive gas and electric rates, and protects the public interest. The job requires people who are able to fairly assess the needs and concerns of all interests affected by our energy policy and to apply the law.”
Manchin has taken on FERC head-on in the past, refuse to hold a confirmation hearing for former FERC Chairman Richard Glick, a Democrat who was nominated by Biden for a second term. Glick spearheaded efforts to more thoroughly examine the need for natural gas pipelines and their environmental impact. upset Manchin.
According to the law it is FERC has five memberswith no more than three belonging to the same political party. They are appointed by the President with the “advice and consent of the Senate” and serve staggered terms of five years. Biden is trying to fill the vacancies left by Glick. who left in 2023GOP Commissioner James Danly, whose term expired last year, and Democrat Allison Clements, whose term expired expires this summer. If no fresh appointments are confirmed by the time Clements leaves office, the commission would do so reduced to two members.
The nominees
At least two of Biden’s nominees could be seen as an olive branch to Manchin. One of them is David Rosner, a Democrat and FERC energy industry analyst who was assigned to the Manchin committee and was recommended by the senator for the commission seat last year. Politico’s E&E News reported. Previously, Rosner was a senior policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Energy and deputy director of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Energy Project.
The other is West Virginia Attorney General Lindsay See, a Republican led the state’s successful litigation against the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that closed before the end of the year US Supreme Court. The third candidate, Judy Chang, a Democrat, is an energy economics and policy expert and an adjunct lecturer and senior fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School. She is the former Undersecretary of Energy and Climate Solutions for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
In a hearing where there were few fireworks, Chang faced the harshest criticism. Wyoming Republican Senator John Barrasso criticized Massachusetts for using more energy than it produces and blocking natural gas pipelines as part of a “radical climate agenda.”
“The last thing FERC needs is someone intent on imposing Massachusetts’ failed policies on the rest of our nation,” he said.
Barrasso asked Chang about a 2018 year Newspaper article It quoted her as saying it made “no sense” to build fresh gas pipelines or power plants.
“Do you still believe it is financially irresponsible to invest in pipelines?” Barrasso asked. Chang initially said the problem is “very complex in New England,” but added, “If I had my magic wand, I would like to have more gas infrastructure and gas supply in the region.”
“Pretty civilized”
In response to repeated questions from several Republican senators about whether FERC was an economic or environmental regulator, the nominees agreed that it was the former. They also agreed that “beneficiaries” should bear the costs of transmission projects, although quantifying the benefits of immense transmission projects and who they extend to is a dainty debate. FERC is expected to issue one final rule to answer some of these questions this spring.
“The question of who pays matters,” said Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, who worried about “socializing” the costs of the transfer to “tariff payers” who don’t benefit from these projects and have no say “The climate policy that has done this has been adopted in other countries.”
Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat who is pushing legislation to build more interregional transmission lines, questioned whether FERC should do so Setting minimum requirements for interregional electricity transmissionThis would allow different parts of the power grid to better assist each other as severe weather and other emergencies worsen. All three nominees expressed interest, but See and Chang stressed the importance of considering “regional differences.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, asked whether FERC had the authority to do so Include greenhouse gas emissions in the review of projects, a long-running debate within the agency. The nominees pledged to abide by the law, although Rosner noted that there are some courts that have ruled that the agency must take certain emissions into account.
“Under the Natural Gas Act, greenhouse gas emissions are not established as a criterion for evaluating natural gas pipelines,” Chang said.
Nominees were also asked about, among other things, grid-enhancing technologies that can improve the capacity of existing transmission lines, accelerate the connection of fresh energy resources to the grid, and lead to local and state conflicts with federal authorities over transmission.
But they mostly provided artful answers, noted Ari Peskoe, director of the Electricity Law Initiative at the Harvard Law School Environmental and Energy Law Program.
“I think if these hearings have any value, it is that the public learns what issues senators care about,” he said. “These candidates were careful not to say anything that might get them into trouble with either the Republicans or the Democrats.”
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, called the committee hearing “fairly civilized” and “without pitting individuals against each other or any kind of political trading going back and forth.”
And indeed, the tone of the hearing could indicate that the nominees could face a glossy path to confirmation, Peskoe said. The Affiliated with Koch Industries The American Energy Alliance, which supports the fossil fuel industry, complained that Manchin “will work with President Biden to move these nominees through the process without much scrutiny.”
“These three nominees were chosen to address some political concerns,” Peskoe said. “Maybe it actually suggests that we’re going to have a moment of collaboration here.”
It’s never ideal for FERC to be without a quorum, like in 2017but now is a particularly bad time, said Caitlin Marquis, executive director at Advanced Energy United, a immaculate energy trade group.
“Both sides should realize that FERC without a quorum is bad for everyone. It creates uncertainty for all aspects of the energy industry,” she said. “There is never a good time for FERC to be in turmoil, but this is certainly a time of historic change in the industry.”
Manchin’s office did not respond to questions Thursday about the nominee’s next steps.
