The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) returned to its full, five-member complement for the first time in two years with the Nov. 30 vote by the Senate to confirm Mark Christie, a Republican, and Allison Clements, a Democrat, as commissioners.
Christie, chairman of the Virginia State Corporation Commission, was confirmed to a term that ends in 2025. Clements, a policy consultant for The Energy Foundation, was confirmed to a term that ends in 2024. FERC commissioners serve five-year, staggered terms.
The confirmations were applauded by the American Petroleum Institute (API) and others.
“We’re pleased that this bipartisan group of Senators has voted to confirm new commissioners to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), so the commission can continue to fulfill its critical role in ensuring the delivery of affordable and reliable energy to small businesses and working families across the country,” Dustin Meyer, API’s director of national gas markets, said in a statement. “We look forward to working with Commissioners Clements and Christie on modernizing our country’s energy infrastructure.”
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, had been calling for a bipartisan pairing to fill the two empty seats.
“In their hearings before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, both Ms. Clements and Mr. Christie demonstrated an ability to work across the aisle and a shared commitment to the public interest and good energy policy,” he said in a statement. “In a political climate that is often paralyzed by partisanship, a fully seated, bipartisan FERC is more essential than ever.”
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