Federal Energy Regulatory Commission member Richard Glick said he will not seek a waiver to participate before Nov. 29 in matters involving former employer Avangrid Inc., effectively stalling a decision from FERC on the PJM Interconnection's proposed capacity market overhaul.
The announcement came after Glick disclosed on Sept. 12 that FERC's ethics officials gave him improper guidance on how long he had to recuse himself from proceedings involving Avangrid, an energy holding company where Glick worked until Feb. 5, 2016.
Glick said he was originally told he would only need to recuse himself from matters involving Avangrid for two years after he left the company. But the commissioner learned earlier this month that the Trump administration's ethics pledge barred him from such proceedings for two years after he joined FERC on Nov. 29, 2017.
Although Glick could seek permission to participate in those matters, "I have decided not to seek a waiver from this requirement," he said in a statement posted Sept. 18 on Twitter. But Glick anticipated the decision "will not impact the vast majority of proceedings" at FERC in the next 71 days and "that the important work of the commission will continue."
FERC is currently split between two Republicans and Glick, a Democrat. The commission needs three voting members to achieve a quorum, meaning Glick's recusal could postpone action on any matters involving Avangrid until late November. Those proceedings include a proposal from Mid-Atlantic grid operator PJM to update its capacity market rules to prevent many subsidized resources, including nuclear plants receiving state-issued zero-emission credits, from factoring their subsidy-related cost savings into their capacity market bids.
Avangrid has intervened in the proceeding, submitting testimony stating that PJM's proposed changes could undermine states' climate and clean energy goals. The grid operator submitted its proposal in October 2018, but the commission has yet to issue a decision on the matter, causing PJM to twice postpone its capacity auction for the 2023 delivery year.
