INGAA President Urges Prompt Confirmation of FERC Nominees

Don Santa, president and chief executive officer of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, yesterday praised the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s decision to “report out” favorably the nominations of Neil Chatterjee and Robert Powelson to serve as members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, while urging the U.S. Senate to promptly confirm the nominations.

“We applaud the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for voting to report out favorably the nominations of Neil Chatterjee and Robert Powelson to serve as FERC commissioners,” Santa said. “We urge the full Senate to act expeditiously on these nominations to restore FERC’s quorum, lacking since early February.”

Santa added that billions of dollars are ready to be used on pipeline projects, once FERC has a quorum again.

“We estimate that about $14 billion in private capital – ready to be deployed on energy infrastructure projects – is being held on the sidelines while FERC lacks a quorum and cannot act on major projects,” Santa said. “The president, and many members of Congress, have stressed the economic importance of developing infrastructure across America. Natural gas pipelines are a form of infrastructure built with private capital, rather than government funds. To build this infrastructure, we need a functioning FERC to act on pending applications to construct interstate natural gas pipelines. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s vote is a step toward restoring the quorum at FERC, and thereby improving the nation’s energy infrastructure.”