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APGA Sends Letter in Support of FERC Nominee

By Dave Schryver posted 11-29-2018 11:27 AM

  
On November 26, APGA sent a letter to Chairman Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Ranking Member Cantwell (D-Wash.) of the Senate Energy Committee in support of the President’s nomination of Bernard McNamee to fill the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) seat formerly held by Commissioner Rob Powelson. Mr. McNamee is currently the head of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Policy and prior to that he served as a DOE Deputy General Counsel. In his role at DOE, Mr. McNamee was one of the architects of DOE’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which proposed to provide cost recovery to electric generation plants with 90 days of fuel onsite. Before joining DOE, he was head of the Tenth Amendment Center at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, which is a think tank.

In its letter, APGA communicates that Mr. McNamee’s “experience in energy law and policy makes him an excellent candidate for the Commission.” The letter also states that APGA “appreciates Mr. McNamee’s understanding of the vital role that the Commission plays in helping to ensure that all Americans have access to abundant and affordable energy. “

A confirmation hearing on Mr. McNamee’s nomination was held on November 15. During the hearing, there was a focus on Mr. McNamee’s involvement, while at DOE, in the administration’s efforts to provide economic relief to struggling coal and nuclear plants. Mr. McNamee communicated that FERC rejected the administration’s proposal on a 5-0 vote earlier this year and that if confirmed he would be a fair, objective, and impartial arbiter in the cases that would come before him as a Commissioner. On November 27, his nomination was approved by the Senate Energy Committee on a 13-10 mostly party-line vote.

The next step will be a vote on the Senate floor, the timing of which is unclear. If confirmed by the Senate, Mr. McNamee’s term would expire in June 2020.

For questions on this article, please contact Dave Schryver of APGA staff by phone at 202-464-2742 or by email at dschryver@apga.org.

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