FERC's Chatterjee acknowledges 'guilt' in politicizing coal, nuclear bailout NOPR

FERC member Neil Chatterjee said he "bungled" his handling of discussions to ensure a reliable and resilient energy grid while serving as chairman.

In late 2017, then-Energy Secretary Rick Perry sent FERC a proposed rule that would have compensated generation sources for their ability to store fuel onsite, a contentious proposal that many viewed as an attempt to prop up struggling coal and nuclear plants. FERC unanimously voted to reject the recommendation.

In what will likely be one of his last public appearances as a FERC member, Chatterjee, who was leading the commission at the time of the notice of proposed rulemaking, or NOPR, said he felt "guilt of introducing politics into this serious conversation" regarding grid reliability and resiliency. The commissioner's term expired at the end of June, and he is expected to soon step down.

"I was still making the transition from partisan legislative aide to independent regulator, and I really approached that process the way a politician would or a political operative would, not an independent regulator," Chatterjee said during an Aug. 11 webinar hosted by the Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions Forum. "And in doing so, I fear that I injected an element of politics, which has made it difficult to consider what is a real issue."

The commissioner said he hopes his departure will help pull some of the politics out of such important discussions.

"These are serious issues that demand serious evaluation," Chatterjee said. "I'm hoping that with my departure my colleagues will be able to do the serious work of the new docket that was opened in this regard because it's very important work to do."

California and Texas failures

Over the last year, the former chairman said he has been frustrated by the partisan reactions to grid failures in California and Texas resulting from extreme weather events. Everyone immediately viewed the disasters through their own "fuel-source lens," blaming whichever energy source fit their political agendas, he said.

The market designs in both Texas and California were challenged and require close examination, Chatterjee said, adding that the commission should "put the bulk of its focus in the coming years" on resiliency.

"We need to have the infrastructure in place to ensure that the grid of the future is there, and that is a grid that will need to be a reliable grid and a resilient grid in the face of some of these extreme weather events," Chatterjee said.

Positive steps

The commissioner reflected on positive developments during his time at FERC as well. Over the last four years, FERC has worked to address barriers to new technologies, including battery storage and aggregated distributed energy resources, which could help support a reliable supply of energy in the future, he said. The Republican also commended the commission for taking bold steps on transmission, including its recent issuance of an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on the subject.

Following the Senate's passage of the bipartisan infrastructure package on Aug. 10, Chatterjee praised the bill and said it included some "meaningful and positive steps forward and really much-needed infrastructure investment."