By Michael Brooks
WASHINGTON — FERC has shifted several employees out of its Office of Enforcement, eliminating the office’s Division of Energy Market Oversight (DEMO), Chairman Neil Chatterjee announced Thursday during the commission’s open meeting.
DEMO staff responsible for reports examining broad market trends, such as the commission’s annual State of the Markets, were transferred to the Office of Energy Policy and Innovation (OEPI), according to FERC. Those responsible for data management support functions in Enforcement’s Division of Analytics and Surveillance (DAS) were transferred to the newly created Data Governance Division within the Office of the Executive Director (OED).
The remaining DEMO staff were shifted to other divisions within Enforcement. Employees monitoring and conducting analysis of market power using electric quarterly report (EQR) data and other market data moved to DAS. Staff administering and performing compliance functions related to EQR and financial forms moved to the Division of Audits and Accounting.
“This reorganization will allow the Office of Enforcement to be more focused on its core mission: continuing oversight of market activities, investigations and audits,” Enforcement Director Larry Parkinson said in a statement. “Assessing broader market trends fits squarely in OEPI’s mission.”
Of Enforcement staff, 9% moved to OEPI and 2% moved to OED, according to FERC. Compliance and market surveillance functions will remain in Enforcement. The office employs 163 full-time equivalents post-reorganization, according to spokeswoman Mary O’Driscoll.
“The reorganization in no way impacts resources needed to address market oversight and compliance activities executed by the Office of Enforcement,” FERC said in a statement. Enforcement “maintains sufficient resources to execute comprehensive oversight and compliance activities on behalf of the commission.”
“This reorganization makes a lot of sense, and it will create efficiencies and more effectively align staff resources and functions,” Chatterjee said at the meeting. Enforcement “will maintain all of the resources it needs to comprehensively address market oversight and compliance.”
Noting that he has been critical of the commission for not being aggressive in its enforcement duties, Commissioner Richard Glick rebutted suggestions that the shuffle would “defang” Enforcement. “It seems to me like a simple matter of administrative efficiency, trying to move things around a little bit and make them function a little bit better,” Glick said. “If I thought there was something nefarious going on, I think the chairman knows and Commissioner [Bernard] McNamee knows that I wouldn’t be shy to talk about it.”
