FERC chair wants Congress to create a new gas regulator

By Zach Bright | 06/06/2024 06:21 AM EDT

Willie Phillips called on lawmakers to set up a body with sole responsibility over the country’s natural gas system.

FERC Chair Willie Phillips speaks.

“We have NERC — the North American Electric Reliability Corp. — where I used to work. They have charge over the reliability of the electric system,” FERC Chair Willie Phillips said. Rod Lamkey Jr. for POLITICO

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chair Willie Phillips on Wednesday urged Congress to bring U.S. natural gas producers and pipelines under more direct regulation after storms in recent years caused widespread energy outages in Texas and across the eastern United States.

Speaking at POLITICO’s Energy Summit, Phillips, a Democrat, said gas and electricity are “increasingly intertwined,” and he suggested the commission might propose action to address gas reliability problems. Gas fuels more than 40 percent of U.S. power generation.

“We have NERC — the North American Electric Reliability Corp. — where I used to work. They have charge over the reliability of the electric system,” Phillips said. “We need a gas entity that also has that same responsibility.”

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Questions of energy reliability dominated the discussion with Phillips. The Biden administration aims to cut planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector to nearly zero by 2035. To get there, thousands of megawatts of wind, solar and energy storage projects that aren’t able to access the aging electric grid today need to be brought online.

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