This week, APGA staff presented to the Process Gas Consumers Group (PGC). With the presidential and congressional elections only weeks away, there was discussion on how aligned advocacy priorities could be affected by the results. For instance, if former President Trump was elected, the Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) would change. The potential newly-elected President Trump would get to appoint someone as Chair that is currently on the commission, but from his party. Would the pipeline policy statements be revised under a Republican Chair? If they were, a Republican Chair likely would support revisions that would increase natural gas pipeline infrastructure development. If the Democrats are in the majority in the House and the Republicans are in the majority in the Senate for the 119th Congress, would reforming Section 5 of the Natural Gas Act be more likely to be introduced and passed? Potentially, since appropriate refund authority for natural gas rate cases is an issue Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee are willing to lead on, maybe even more so than Republicans. No one at the meeting had a crystal ball, so no one knows for sure what will happen in November. It was still valuable to talk through the scenarios, though, as both APGA and PGC need to be prepared.
In addition, APGA staff took time to thank the PGC for their help on collaborative efforts. 2024 has been busy, as APGA and PGC have worked together on aligned advocacy priorities, such as “junk and jewel” and Section 5 Reform.
PGC members represent a broad cross-section of U.S. industry, particularly in terms of goods produced, including metals, cars, textiles, chemicals, glass, fertilizer, and other manufactured products. It is critical that natural gas continue to be a part of PGC member operations to ensure they can reliably provide the products Americans need. Plus, these companies provide millions of jobs and benefit the economy here in the U.S. APGA looks forward to continued collaboration with PGC on advocacy efforts.
For questions on this article, please contact Stuart Saulters of APGA’s staff by phone at 202-544-1334 or by email at ssaulters@apga.org.