Senate Confirms Bernard McNamee to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Senate today confirmed Bernard McNamee to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates interstate electricity and natural gas transmission and sales.

McNamee, a Republican, directs the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) policy office, where he supported proposed bailouts of costly coal and nuclear power plants. FERC is comprised of five commissioners appointed by the president, with no more than three from the same political party. 

Following is a statement from John Moore, director of the Sustainable FERC Project housed within NRDC:

“Bernard McNamee is joining the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission amid the most dire and urgent reports yet about the increasing destruction from climate change. He needs to wholeheartedly support FERC’s mission as a fuel-neutral agency, which means not favoring fossil fuels despite his past statements. Costly coal plants have no place in today’s power grid when more affordable and reliable options are available. As America’s interstate energy regulator, FERC is supposed to care about the reliable delivery of electricity at ‘just and reasonable’ rates, not about the source of the electrons powering the grid.

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The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Chicago; Bozeman, Montana; and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC

 

 

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