The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed David Rosner, a Democrat, as a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and is slated to vote on the remaining two nominees this week.
The Senate on Wednesday is expected to hold an initial and final vote on Lindsey See, a Republican, to be a member of the FERC panel, which has a maximum of five members. FERC regulates the power grid, liquefied natural gas projects, and interstate transportation of oil and natural gas.
The Senate is also slated on Wednesday to hold an initial vote on Judy Chang, a Democrat. A final vote on Chang is expected as early as Thursday.
Rosner is a FERC energy industry analyst currently on detail with the U.S. Senate energy committee. His term is set to run through June 30, 2027. As voting continued in the 100-member Senate, Rosner was up 61 to 21, and needed only a simple majority.
Chang, is an energy economics and policy expert and former undersecretary of energy and climate solutions for Massachusetts. See, recommended by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, is the solicitor general of West Virginia.
FERC currently has two Democrats and one Republican. In February, President Joe Biden promoted Willie Phillips to head FERC. Shortly afterwards, Allison Clements, the other Democrat, said she would not seek a second term. Her current one expires June 30.
In May, FERC approved the first major electric transmission policy update in more than a decade that aims to speed up new interregional lines to move more power from wind and solar farms to meet growing demand amid the boom in electric vehicles, data centers and artificial intelligence.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)