On November 18, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted to advance the nominations of Mark Christie and Allison Clements as commissioners for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). If confirmed by the Senate, they would provide FERC with a full quorum of five commissioners composed of three Republicans and two Democrats.
To voice support, APGA joined a coalition letter asking Senate leadership to promptly schedule a floor vote of the nominees. Signed by over 20 organizations representing a broad array of industries, companies, and labor unions, the letter describes FERC’s role in ensuring access to reliable and affordable energy and the timely need to fill the empty FERC seats to guarantee no lapse in the agency’s critical work.
Christie, a Republican, is currently the Chairman of the Virginia State Corporation Commission and is one of the nation’s longest-serving state utility regulators, having served for 16 years. Clements, a Democrat, currently serves as the founder and president of Goodgrid, LLC, an energy policy and strategy consulting firm, and previously worked for a decade at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Christie and Clements were originally nominated in July and participated in a hearing before the committee in September. Since then, FERC has experienced a change in Chairman, as President Trump replaced Neil Chatterjee with James Danly earlier this month.
A copy of the letter supporting the nominees can be found
here, and APGA staff will continue to monitor the nomination process.
Also this week, APGA joined over 400 associations and companies in signing a letter in support of extending the Alternative Fuel Tax Credit (AFTC). The AFTC is a $0.50/gallon of gas equivalent (GGE) credit on the sale of alternative fuels like compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) for transportation use. Last year, the AFTC was extended retroactively for tax years 2018 and 2019, and forward into 2020. The letter calls for Congress to extend the AFTC on a more long-term basis to ensure certainty and growth of the alternative fuel sector. APGA has joined a coalition of interested parties to advocate for passage of an AFTC extension on a year-end legislative vehicle. A copy of the letter can be found
here.
For questions on this article, please contact Renée Lani or Doug MacGillivray of APGA staff by phone at 202-464-2742 or by email at
rlani@apga.org or
dmacgillivray@apga.org.