FERC Chairman Joseph T. Kelliher has named John S. Moot to be the Commission’s General Counsel, effective Sept. 12. Moot will succeed Cynthia Marlette who has been appointed to a new position in which she will oversee the agency’s implementation of requirements under the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Moot comes to FERC from the Washington, DC law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where he has practiced since 1992 and been a partner for six years. Prior to that, he was an associate attorney at the law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson & Hand. Moot has represented publicly owned utilities, rural electric cooperatives, investor-owned utilities, wholesale power companies, state regulatory commissions and merchant generators. He received his law degree from American University Washington College of Law in 1988, and his bachelor of arts degree from St. Lawrence University in 1983.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s selection to head the Office of Ratepayer Advocates (ORA) at the California Public Utilities Commission, Dana Appling, was confirmed unanimously last Thursday by the California state Senate (35-0). Appling thanked the lawmakers and governor for their confidence in her ability to lead the independent unit that represents small consumers as a group in CPUC proceedings that impact utility rates and services. “ORA has a wonderful team dedicated to protecting consumers and I will continue to improve and expand upon what we do every day to represent the interests of the state’s ratepayers,” Appling said in a written statement from the CPUC. Prior to the ORA appointment Appling served as chief counsel for WebGen Systems, Inc., an enterprise energy conservation and demand-side management start-up company based in Cambridge, MA. Before that she had been an attorney and general counsel and secretary to the board of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District.

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