Media Coverage
Source: Law360
Media Coverage
05.30.13
Jon Wellinghoff, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, has submitted his resignation to President Obama, but will stay on until a replacement is confirmed. During his tenure, Wellinghoff pushed for major improvements to the nation’s electric grid and policed energy market manipulation. Many in the legal and energy industries speculate that his successor will follow the consumer-first path Wellinghoff advocated.
Commenting on the enforcement actions FERC has undertaken as well as the possible actions it is considering, Michael Hindus, an energy partner in Pillsbury’s San Francisco office, said, “They're asking the right questions, and for better or for worse, this is what Congress intended when the 2005 Energy Policy Act was enacted.”
A key issue for the new chair will be improving coordination between the natural gas and electricity industries. “The new chair is going to have to deal with the impact of the changing fuel mix on infrastructure as natural gas becomes more prevalent,” Hindus stated. “We're going to see infrastructure changes and we're going to see changes in how power flows, because we're going to continue to see coal-fired plant retirements.”