Lauren Lantry, lauren.lantry@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the Sierra Club filed a motion at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) for Commissioner Bernard McNamee to recuse himself from two dockets at the Commission. The motion, which Sierra Club filed with Union of Concerned Scientists, Natural Resources Defense Council, and EarthJustice, argues McNamee should not be involved in decisions about whether changes are needed to ensure grid reliability and resilience. McNamee should recuse himself because his prior work on two coal bailout proposals initiated by the Trump administration, including the Grid Resiliency Pricing Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the “DOE NOPR”), create an unacceptable risk that he has already made up his mind on the issues underlying these dockets. FERC could make a decision on these matters early next year.
“Consumers deserve fair hearings on these issues that directly affect their energy choices and the prices they pay on utility bills, but Commissioner McNamee’s prior work raises real concerns that he has already made up his mind that coal plants need to be bailed out to ensure reliability,” said Casey Roberts, Sierra Club Senior Attorney. “FERC Commissioners making these decisions must be open to considering all the evidence, but Bernard McNamee’s work as the architect of the coal bailout plan while at the Department of Energy shows that his impartiality is very much in question. It is clear that consumers will not get a fair hearing unless McNamee recuses himself from these dockets.”
The first docket relates to DOE’s NOPR and the second docket is a broader assessment of whether market or planning rules need to change in order to ensure resilience. For the first docket, McNamee’s active and direct work in developing the DOE NOPR, and his advocacy in support of the proposed rule provide grounds for recusal. For the second docket, McNamee’s involvement in the advancement of an alternate Department of Energy proposal to halt retirements of coal and nuclear plants under the Federal Power Act and/or the Defense Production Act provide grounds for recusal. These actions objectively create the appearance that Commissioner McNamee has prejudged central matters of law and fact that remain at issue in these proceedings.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.