President Obama on Wednesday nominated Larry Persily, a former aide to ex-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, to be federal coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects (ANGTP). In addition, Patricia Hoffman was nominated to helm the Office of Electricity and Energy Reliability, which has been tasked with creating a smart power grid for the nation.

Persily, a former journalist in Alaska, worked for more than 10 years on gas and oil issues for three of the state’s governors, including Palin. He became a vocal critic of his ex-boss after she resigned from office. He currently is an aide to Mike Hawker, a Republican member of Alaska’s state legislature, and would take over his new post in early January.

The ANGTP is pushing forward on the long-planned and long-delayed gas pipeline, which would bring supplies from Alaska’s North Slope to the Lower 48 states. Persily replaces Drue Pearce, a Bush appointee, who was asked to step down last month (see Daily GPI, Nov. 17).

Persily previously served as deputy commissioner at the Alaska Department of Revenue until 2003 and returned in 2004 to assist the state and North Slope producers with developing a gas pipeline. He later worked for Palin in Washington, DC, on oil and gas, Arctic, commerce, transportation and tax issues. Persily also has represented Alaska at oil and gas conferences and presented on Alaska oil and gas and fiscal issues. He previously was editor of the Department of Revenue’s 2002 report, “State Financial Participation in an Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline.”

After the appointment was announced, Alaska’s Democratic Sen. Mark Begich said “few people can match [Persily’s] depth of knowledge and history on Alaska oil and gas issues. From his work in the news business, the legislative branch, the executive branch, and with various governmental agencies, Larry is known statewide for his bipartisan credentials and his wealth of experience working toward developing a natural gas pipeline to serve Alaska and other North American consumers.”

Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski also praised the appointment.

“I’ve known Larry for years,” she said. “He has solid knowledge of oil and gas industry finance and the state’s regulatory process…We’ve waited decades for this project to get under way. I have faith that the new coordinator will do his utmost to see it completed successfully.”

In addition, the president tapped Hoffman, a longtime Department of Energy (DOE) official, as assistant secretary for electricity and energy reliability. She has 14 years of experience at the department.

“The focus of her responsibility is to provide leadership on a national level to modernize the electric grid, enhance the security and reliability of the energy infrastructure and facilitate recovery from disruptions to the energy supply both domestically and internationally,” the White House said of Hoffman.

The federal stimulus package provided $4.5 billion for the office, and in November DOE awarded $620 million for smart grid demonstration and energy storage projects nationwide.

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