Trump Nominates 2 New FERC Commissioners – Powelson & Chatterjee

Finally! President Trump has proffered two candidates to fill the (soon to be) four empty slots as commissioners for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The FERC board is supposed to have five commissioners. It currently has two, and soon to be one. Three commissioners are needed to fulfill a quorum, allowing votes to be taken on important infrastructure (i.e. pipeline) projects. A number of vital Marcellus/Utica projects are on hold due to lack of quorum. The not-so-secret rumor running around Washington since March was that Trump would nominate Kevin McIntyre, Neil Chatterjee and Robert Powelson (see Breaking: Kevin McIntyre, Neil Chatterjee are Trump Picks for FERC and Names Mentioned for 3rd FERC Post, Incl. PA’s Powelson). Kevin McIntyre is an attorney with the Jones Day law firm. Neil Chatterjee is a senior energy adviser to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. And Rob Powelson is a member of the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission, and currently the president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). The rumor was that McIntyre would be put forward as chairman of FERC. Yet, when Trump finally nominated, McIntyre was not in the mix. Will he come along later? Is he now off the list? At least with Chatterjee and Powelson, FERC will once again have a quorum. When? Both candidates have to be vetted by the Senate. If everything goes smoothly, a final vote could happen by early June. Unless the Democrats try to slam the breaks on…