President George W. Bush Tuesday announced his intention tonominate Texas regulator Patrick Henry Wood III and Pennsylvaniaregulator Nora Mead Brownell for the two vacant commissioner spotson the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Wood, currently chairman of the Texas Public Utility Commission,was appointed to the PUC in 1995 by then-Gov. George W. Bush, andwas a member of the Bush energy transition team. He would fill outa term expiring June 30, 2005. Brownell has been a member of thePennsylvania Public Utility Commission since April 1997. She wasnamed for the remainder of a five year term expiring on June 30,2001 and for an additional five year term expiring June 30, 2006.

Wood had served as a FERC staffer from 1991-3 and was legalcounsel to the chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission.Additionally, he was an engineer with Arco Indonesia and anattorney with the law firm of Baker & Botts in Washington, DC.He is a graduate of Texas A&M and Harvard Law.

Brownell currently is president of the National Association ofRegulatory Utility Commissioners. Previously, she acted asexecutive director of the Regional Performing Arts Center inPhiladelphia, and served as senior vice president of MeridianBancorp, Inc.’s corporate affairs unit. A native of Erie, PA., sheattended Syracuse University.

While both nominees were slated for commissioner posts, Wood,who has close ties to Bush, still is expected to be named chairmanof FERC, but not immediately, according to sources. “A deal hasbeen struck” that calls for current Chairman Curt Hebert Jr. toremain in office until either late summer or early fall, and thento step aside for Wood, said a knowledgeable source. “I knowthere’s a timetable scheduled” for Hebert’s exit and Wood’sappointment as chairman.

Some questioned the wisdom of such a move by the White Housebecause it means that Hebert, who has been at the helm of FERCsince late January, would be a lame-duck chairman for the nextseven or eight months.

Rumors have been swirling around Washington D.C. for nearly amonth about the White House’s plans to nominate Wood ascommissioner and then appoint him as FERC chairman over Hebert (seeDaily GPI, March 5). But Hebert has dismissed these as “politicalrumors,” saying that the Bush White House hadn’t informed himpersonally that this was its intent.

Behind the scenes, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS), along-time ally and friend of Hebert’s, reportedly has beennegotiating with the White House to keep him on as chairman. Hebertalso has had strong support from other Republican heavyweights onCapitol Hill, including Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), Sen. FrankMurkowski (R-AK), Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) and Rep. W.J. “Billy”Tauzin (R-LA).

Despite this backing, it’s unlikely that there will be anyunited opposition to Wood’s nomination since senators generallyconcede the President’s right to pick his administration staff..Nor is Brownell’s nomination likely to run up against anyopposition in the Senate. The selection of Brownell for FERCcommissioner is something of a surprise. A number of persons havebeen mentioned as candidates for the seat over the past months, buther name never surfaced.

Once Wood and Brownell are on board, it would mark the firsttime in more than a year that FERC will be operating with its full,five members. Former Commissioner Vicky Bailey departed in February2000, leaving one vacancy, and former Chairman James Hoecker leftin January.

This also will be the first time in a long while that theCommission will have a Republican majority – Wood, Brownell andHebert. Commissioners William Massey and Linda Breathitt, both ofwhom were appointed by President Clinton, are Democrats.

Wood and Brownell share similar backgrounds – both have beenvery active in deregulating the electricity markets in theirrespective states. Pennsylvania is considered to have one of thebest retail choice programs in the nation, while Texas – whichexpects to be fully deregulated by January 2002 – has been givenhigh marks as well.

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