On April 28, 2017, Commissioner Colette Honorable announced that she will not pursue another term as a Commissioner at FERC after her current term expires June 30, 2017. Commissioner Honorable is serving her first term with the Commission. After she was appointed by President Obama, she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 16, 2014 (see December 19, 2014 edition of the WER). Prior to joining FERC, Commissioner Honorable was the Chairman of the Arkansas Public Service Commission and also was president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.
Although Commissioner Honorable’s term expires on June 30, 2017, a Commissioner may serve past her term until a successor has been confirmed and sworn in, except that a Commissioner cannot serve beyond the end of the session of Congress in which such term expires. If Commissioner Honorable leaves the Commission prior to President Trump’s appointees being confirmed by the U.S. Senate, then Acting Chairman Cheryl LaFleur would be the only remaining Commissioner.
In a statement regarding her decision not to pursue another term, Commissioner Honorable said, “I appreciate the strong bipartisan support I’ve enjoyed over the years and look forward to continuing this important work after leaving the Commission.”
Her statement is available here.