trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/Rn1ZHUScQek6g566N8k51A2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Former FERC Chairman LaFleur to join ISO-NE board of directors

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 49: Carbon reduction in cloud

Blog

Using ESG Analysis to Support a Sustainable Future

Research

US utility commissioners: Who they are and how they impact regulation

Blog

Q&A: Datacenters: Energy Hogs or Sustainability Helpers?


Former FERC Chairman LaFleur to join ISO-NE board of directors

The ISO New England has elected to its board of directors Cheryl LaFleur, a former chairman and member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission who stepped down from her nine-year post at the agency in late August.

LaFleur confirmed the move Sept. 13 on Twitter, writing that she is "excited to be part of [the ISO-NE], an organization that is at the forefront of addressing critical energy challenges in a region about which [she cares] deeply." In early August, LaFleur declined to vote on the ISO-NE's proposed winter fuel security program but did not explain her rationale behind the decision at the time.

"New England is my home and where I have spent most of my career, and I welcome the opportunity to be part of an organization that serves electricity consumers across the region," LaFleur said in an ISO-NE press release.

The Democratic commissioner helmed the commission through much of 2017 after the agency lost commissioners along with its voting quorum and before the Trump administration nominated replacements to the five-person panel. As a strong believer in competitive energy markets and FERC's independence, LaFleur refused to support a Trump administration proposal to subsidize coal-fired and nuclear power plants.

In an August interview, LaFleur said she would have accepted another term at FERC had she been asked. In March 2010, then-President Barack Obama nominated LaFleur to the commission, to which she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in June of that year. She served as acting chairman from November 2013 to July 2014 and as chairman from July 2014 until April 2015. President Donald Trump again appointed her acting chairman from February 2017 until August 2017.

LaFleur's tenure with the ISO-NE will begin Oct. 1, when she will fill the position left open by retiring member Raymond Hill. Prior to joining FERC, LaFleur was executive vice president and acting CEO of National Grid USA.