By Michael Brooks

WASHINGTON — With two new members, FERC commissioners spent much of the commission’s first open meeting since January introducing their teams and new staff members.

They also took the time to thank and praise staff members for their work between Feb. 4, the day after former Chairman Norman Bay resigned, to Aug. 9, when new Chairman Neil Chatterjee and Commissioner Robert Powelson joined to restore the commission’s quorum. During the so-called ‘no quorum period,’ the Office of Energy Market Regulation issued 200 orders under a limited delegated authority. Under the direction of then-acting Chairman Cheryl LaFleur, staff also worked to prepare filings on which they could not act for when a three-member quorum was restored.

Since regaining its quorum, the commission has issued more than 90 orders and rulemakings, including 32 at Wednesday’s meeting. Throughout the meeting, however, Chatterjee and Powelson repeatedly alluded to the massive backlog of filings the commission still needs to act on, which Chatterjee told reporters is his “primary focus” during his tenure.

“As Rob and I were going through the Senate confirmation process, what we heard repeatedly was, ‘We need to get you guys through so we can get FERC working again,’” Chatterjee said. “What has been made clear to me from the moment I walked in the door … is that FERC has been working. It’s been doing tremendous work under acting Chairman LaFleur’s leadership and with the talented efforts of the staff here.”

Powelson said he was “thoroughly impressed with the professionalism and the institutional knowledge and the welcoming spirit” of FERC staff. “You all have been wonderful, and you are what makes this organization tick.”

“Almost makes me feel like we don’t need commissioners when you really see who does the work around here,” LaFleur joked.

LaFleur emphasized the amount of work staff did during the no-quorum period, highlighting the May technical conference on the effects of state policies on wholesale electricity markets; the investigation of potential violations by Energy Transfer Partners regarding its Rover natural gas pipeline in Ohio; and the response to damage at the Oroville Dam in California. (See Power Markets at Risk from State Actions, Speakers Tell FERC; Local Officials Appeal to FERC as Oroville Water Levels Recede.)

“To say that the first part of this year until my friends arrived was an odd and unusual time at FERC would be an understatement,” LaFleur said. “I always knew our staff had a [strong] work ethic, but it takes tremendous dedication to keep reading things, and writing comments, and writing convoluted memos, and drafting orders when there’s nobody to act on them.”

She also compared FERC’s work on “the big things” during the period — Order 1000, returns on equity, the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act and hydro licensing — to a duck’s feet underwater: “It moves furiously, but you can’t see it.”

Asked after the meeting whether the commission was waiting on the confirmations of Kevin McIntyre and Richard Glick to tackle these issues, Chatterjee said he would indeed prefer to do that.

“That said, having been through the Senate confirmation process myself, and knowing the uncertainties of that process, certainly we’re prepared to move on some of these major issues if in fact the arrival of our colleagues is delayed in some way,” Chatterjee said. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee forwarded McIntyre’s and Glick’s nominations to the full Senate on Tuesday. (See Senate Panel Clears McIntyre, Glick for FERC.)

But Chatterjee declined to comment on any specific issues or decisions. “I think we tend to go forward on items as they’re ready,” he said. “If they’re ready to go, and we have the votes to approve them … we can move forward.

“I’m optimistic that our colleagues will join us sooner rather than later, but we can’t suspend the commission’s work waiting on the Senate to act.”

Morenoff Feted

Commissioners called out many individual staff members during the meeting, but one name that came up among all three commissioners’ accolades was David Morenoff, FERC’s deputy general counsel.

Morenoff, who has been with the commission since 2006, served as general counsel during the no-quorum period, as well as during the interim period that LaFleur served as chairman after Bay was confirmed.

“Neither of the periods that he was my general counsel were normal,” LaFleur said. “And his superb judgment and support were critical to me personally during both of those times.”

After introducing Morenoff’s replacement, James Danly, Chatterjee said, “I’d be remiss if I didn’t recognize the good work of former General Counsel David Morenoff. I’m grateful for his leadership and willingness to take on this important challenge, and I look forward to continuing to work with him as he returns to his duties as deputy general counsel. David has also been an invaluable resource to me from the moment I walked in the door.”

Toward the end of the meeting, LaFleur — already somewhat emotional from thanking her team for their work during the period — became choked up as she praised Morenoff for leading the Office of General Counsel and the respect he has garnered among its staff.

LaFleur — “with Chairman Chatterjee’s courtesy,” she said — awarded Morenoff the Chairman’s Executive Leadership Award.