On December 5, APGA members and staff met with two Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) commissioners: Commissioner Mark Christie and Commissioner David Rosner. In the meetings, APGA highlighted the federal public policy priorities of community-owned natural gas utilities.
The meetings focused on the impacts of severe winter weather on public gas utilities, capacity constraints and the need for additional natural gas infrastructure, as well as the importance of FERC’s role in mitigating excessive pipeline rates and needed reform of Section 5 of the Natural Gas Act by Congress. APGA Board members Mike Casper of JCE Co-op, Stephen Mayfield of the City of Tallahassee, and Luke Peterson of Hibbing Public Utilities Commission joined the meeting to discuss how some of these issues are playing out in their own systems.
This meeting provided APGA the opportunity to communicate the challenges public natural gas utilities face to Commissioner Christie and Commissioner Rosner and FERC staff. All FERC meetings play a critical role in APGA’s advocacy efforts and in APGA developing and maintaining relationships with the FERC Commissioners.
A Look Ahead: In January 2025, APGA is jointly meeting with the new FERC Commissioners – Commissioner Chang, Commissioner Rosner, and Commissioners See to educate the Commissioners on the “junk and jewel” issue. Additionally, in 2025, President-elect Trump can nominate a new Chair of FERC, which will require approval by the U.S. Senate.
For questions regarding this article or APGA’s engagement with FERC, please contact Sydney Novoa of APGA by phone at 202-464-0834 or email at snovoa@apga.org.