President Obama will nominate Tony Clark, who is currently chairman of the North Dakota Public Service Commission (PSC), to become FERC Commissioner, the White House said. Clark, a Republican, has served at the PSC since 2000. He is the immediate past president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and served in the North Dakota House of Representatives from 1994 to 1997. He holds bachelor’s degrees from North Dakota State University and a master’s of public administration from the University of North Dakota. If approved by the Senate, Clark would join Chairman Jon Wellinghoff and Commissioners Philip Moeller, John Norris and Cheryl LaFleur at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Marc Spitzer, a Republican, stepped down last month after completing a five-year term on the Commission (see NGI, Dec. 19, 2011). Spitzer’s departure left the Commission with three Democrats (Wellinghoff, Norris and LaFleur) and one Republican (Moeller). According to FERC rules, his successor must be a Republican or an independent.

Obama also will nominate Adam E. Sieminski to be administrator of the Department of Energy‘s Energy Information Administration, the White House said. Sieminski is the chief energy economist for Deutsche Bank, where he has served since 2005. He previously served as the director and energy strategist for Deutsche Bank’s global oil and gas equity team, vice president and senior oil analyst for NatWest Securities, and vice president and oil analyst for Washington Analysis Corp. He has been a member of the National Petroleum Council since 2006. Sieminski holds both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s of public administration from Cornell University.

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