We sat down with chair Cheryl LaFleur and commissioner Colette Honorable as their extraordinary time as the only members of the FERC continues.
In May, President Donald Trump announced the nomination of two new commissioners to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The Senate must approve the nominees, who are NARUC President Rob Powelson and Neil Chatterjee, energy policy advisor to United States Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
Since early February, FERC has faced an unprecedented freeze of certain major agenda items when one of its three remaining commissioners resigned, leaving just two. The agency usually has five commissioners, and typically needs a quorum of at least three to approve certain projects. FERC has never been in a situation in which it had just two commissioners until this year.
PUF's Pat McMurray met with Acting Chairman Cheryl LaFleur and Commissioner Colette Honorable to discuss this historic time at FERC.
FERC Acting Chairman Cheryl LaFleur
PUF's Pat McMurray: What was it like when you came here, and what it's been like for the past seven years?
Commissioner LaFleur: It's really been a wonderful experience. I've been in the energy field a long time, since 1986, but when I got the call from the White House to be considered for the commissioner position in 2009, it was a surprise.