Not all of the lobbying groups in Washington, DC, believe that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is destined to become more proactive on energy if former Colorado regulator Ron Binz is confirmed as chairman.

“I don’t think there would be a huge change from Jon Wellinghoff. Wellinghoff was no fan of fossil fuels…To me, it would be more of the same,” said a regulatory expert from a oil and natural gas organization. But, “I would not despair that ‘Oh my gosh the industry is going to be really hurt at FERC.'”

If Binz were confirmed to head FERC, “I don’t see it as being a disaster” for oil and gas, she said. Most of the opposition against Binz is coming from coal interests. President Obama tapped Binz for chairman of FERC in late June (see Daily GPI, July 1).

Binz, a renewable energy and consumer advocate, resigned from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission in 2011 under pressure from mining interests and Republican state legislators. He then went into private business. He currently is principal at Public Policy Consulting in Denver and a policy adviser for the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University in Fort Collins.

“I don’t think there will be a big change” under Binz, said an official with a left-leaning think tank in Washington, DC. “He’s the logical successor to Jon Wellinghoff.” While the Commission under Wellinghoff favored renewable energy projects and brought the hammer down hard on manipulation in the power market, he said he wouldn’t be surprised if Wellinghoff’s successor cracked down more in the gas trading market. He said he also would expect FERC to continue acting on liquefied natural gas facilities and gas pipelines.

Both agreed that Binz’s confirmation process will be contentious. “I would expect it to be…Nothing sails through Congress easily” anymore, said the oil and gas regulatory expert. The confirmation process in general has become more difficult.

Following an attack in the Wall Street Journal, eight Republican and four Democratic ex-FERC commissioners came to Binz’s defense, calling him “a fair and impartial judge.” Democratic staffers on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee circulated the letter, partially in an attempt to stir up attention to his confirmation hearing.

“Binz at this point doesn’t have a clear path to confirmation,” said Ben Cole, a spokesperson for the American Energy Alliance, which has criticized Binz, but has not come out definitely against his confirmation. Critics question whether the United States needs an ideologue heading a regulatory agency “who has no concern for the affordability” of energy. Binz prefers expensive renewable energy, according to Cole.

“There’s concern about whether he has the full support of the Democrats” on the Senate Energy Committee, which he will need for his nomination to be sent to the Senate floor, Cole said. Questions also have been raised about whether he can “preserve the integrity of FERC.”