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TThe White House announced Wednesday evening that President Trump was appointing Neil Chatterjee as Chair of the Federal Regulatory Commission, replacing Kevin McIntyre, who is suffering from health problems.
Chatterjee, a Republican, does not need the approval of the Senate to become president because he is already a commissioner.
McIntyre, also a Republican and Trump candidate, said he intended to stay at FERC as an ordinary commissioner, but that he would give up his presidency.
"I will always be grateful to have the opportunity to serve as Chair and the confidence you have shown in leading FERC at such a pivotal moment in its history," said M McIntyre in a letter to Trump. "And I continue to be deeply grateful for the unwavering support and encouragement I have received from you, Mr. President, and from all over the world."
McIntyre was diagnosed with a brain tumor in the summer of 2017 and had recovered after treatment, which allowed him to become president of the FERC. But he said he has recently experienced a more serious setback in health, leaving him "unable to perform the duties of president with the level of focus that the post demands and that the FERC and the American people deserve".
Mr. Chatterjee, former Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Previously served as Chair of the FERC Board of Directors before McIntyre was confirmed by the Senate. last November.
Chatterjee chaired the last two FERC monthly meetings, which McIntyre missed. He and his fellow Democrat Commissioners, Cheryl LaFleur and Richard Glick, presented their prayers and best wishes to McIntyre at last week's meeting.
"I'm really sorry that President Mcintyre is not able to be here today and continues to wish warm greetings for his recovery and I know everyone here is doing it," LaFleur said. .
FERC already lacks a member after the recent resignation of Republican Commissioner Robert Powelson. Trump has appointed Bernard McNamee, chief of the energy policy bureau, to fill the open seat.
The reshuffle comes as FERC has a busy schedule. He is currently discussing the opportunity to change the way electricity providers are remunerated as the grid moves away from coal and nuclear energy towards more gas. natural and renewable energies.
In a much-awaited decision, the FERC voted unanimously in January to reject a proposal by Energy Secretary Rick Perry to pay special payments to coal and nuclear power plants in trouble in the name of resilience and reliability.
McIntyre and Chatterjee both opposed the Perry Plan. Chatterjee, a Kentucky native, like McConnell, expressed sympathy for the coal industry's fate, but said the subsidy would upset the balance of competitive wholesale electricity markets rewarding the source of electricity. cheapest production.
FERC, rejecting Perry's plan, asked regional transport operators to provide information on resilience issues in their markets. The commission examines these responses and could act alone. Trump has repeatedly insisted that measures be taken to save coal and nuclear power plants, but the White House would have been blocked by an effort to use executive power in an emergency.
Any potential action would probably come from FERC, which is independent.
FERC is also reviewing its 1999 Pipeline Project Approval Policy, with the goal of updating it to reflect the best way to manage the transportation of abundant natural shale gas to the market, while taking into account environmental concerns and climate change. And it is under pressure to approve liquefied natural gas export projects more quickly in order to clear a backlog.
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