FERC commissioners approved by Senate to protect quorum

The U.S. Senate approved nominees for empty seats on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shortly after GPA Midstream and 17 other energy and related trade associations urged quick approval in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

FERC, which makes key decisions related to energy infrastructure and markets, was operating with a bare minimum of three out of five commissioners to form a quorum. A vacancy was pending when the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources recommended a slate of nominees to the full Senate.

The letter to Schumer and McConnell was sent June 10, and the Senate approved all the nominees on June 13.

Failing to maintain a quorum would have eliminated the agency's ability to approve construction of new LNG terminals and natural gas pipelines, approve major electricity market rules, or perform other key functions. The loss of these functions in turn would freeze the economic growth spurred by energy infrastructure development through wages paid to local workers, expenditures at small businesses, and lower costs for families.