Commissioner

President Obama Monday announced his intent to tap FERC Commissioner Phillip D. Moeller for another term on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Moeller, a Republican, has served on the Commission since July 2006 (see Daily GPI, July 17, 2006). He assumed the seat of former FERC Chairman Pat Wood. His current term expires on June 30. Prior to coming to FERC, Moeller was executive director of the Washington office for Wisconsin-based Alliant Energy Corp. He was an energy policy advisor to former Sen. Slade Gorton (R-WA) before his stint at Alliant, and had been a staff coordinator for the Washington State Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications. He was born in Chicago and raised on a ranch near Spokane, WA. He received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Stanford University.

CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton says he is “optimistic” that the futures regulator will issue a proposal addressing position limits and hedge exemptions in energy futures trading by the middle of the month.

FERC Commissioner Marc Spitzer last Wednesday said he supported the move in Congress to give the agency cease-and-desist authority to intervene in natural gas and power markets to stop suspected misconduct and to freeze company assets.

FERC Commissioner Marc Spitzer Wednesday said he supported the move in Congress to give the agency cease-and-desist authority to intervene in natural gas and power markets to stop suspected misconduct and to freeze company assets.

Noting that the cap-and-trade (CAT) market will likely become the largest commodity market in the world, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Bart Chilton said late last week that the rapidly expanding trade of greenhouse gas emissions contracts are already making progress in the effort to combat global warming.

Noting that the cap-and-trade (CAT) market will likely become the largest commodity market in the world, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Bart Chilton said Thursday that the rapidly expanding trade of greenhouse gas emissions contracts are already making progress in the effort to combat global warming.

Commissioner Bart Chilton of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Tuesday called on Congress to give the agency the authority to pursue criminal prosecution of fraud and manipulation in commodity futures markets.

With a Pacific Northwest native and current FERC commissioner, Philip Moeller, endorsing the need for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, two other regional gas advocates made the case for bringing added gas supplies into the region, while pointing out that current depressed wholesale prices in North America, not the global financial crisis, are the current impediment to new supplies from both pipelines and LNG imports.

Anyone who hopes to site a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the West Coast should be realistic about the time and effort it may take, a FERC commissioner and a regional expert said in separate presentations last week in San Francisco.