President Obama plans to renominate John Norris as a Commissioner at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to serve a full five-year term to mid-2017. In January 2010 Norris, a former Iowa regulator, joined the Commission to complete the term of former Chairman Joseph Kelliher (see NGI, Jan. 11, 2010). Norris previously was a board member and chair of the Iowa Utilities Board. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee plans to hold a combined confirmation hearing for Norris and North Dakota regulator Tony Clark, who recently was nominated to succeed former Commissioner Marc Spitzer (see NGI, Jan. 30). Spitzer, a Republican, stepped down in December after completing a five-year term at FERC. “It would make sense to do the two FERC nominations together” in one confirmation hearing, said Bill Wicker, a spokesman for Senate Energy Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM). “It would be like one-stop shopping.” He further noted that there was no rush for the Senate energy panel to vote out the nominations. “The Commission has got a good working quorum…We’re not foot-dragging, but we’re not in a rush either.”

©Copyright 2012Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news reportmay not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in anyform, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.