On Wednesday, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) Chairman Joseph T. Kelliher announced that he would step down as Chairman effective January 20. His term on the Commission does not end until 2012, but he said that he will immediately begin to recuse himself from FERC business.
Kelliher said, “It has been an honor to serve as chairman of FERC at this particular time, with the expanded power granted the agency in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This law gave FERC better tools to discharge its historic missions of guarding the consumer from exploitation and promoting the development of a robust energy infrastructure, as well as giving the agency new missions on grid reliability and enforcement. It has been a privilege to exercise this new authority and define these new missions.”
Kelliher was named chairman of the Commission by President George W. Bush effective July 9, 2005, after having served as a Commissioner since November 20, 2003.
Kelliher’s statement is available at: http://www.ferc.gov/news/news-releases/2009/2009-1/01-07-09.asp.