President Donald Trump on Thursday designated Laura Swett chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, marking the agency’s third leadership change in nine months.
Swett — a Republican who previously served as an adviser and attorney at FERC and an energy litigator at the firm Vinson & Elkins — will replace Democrat David Rosner at the commission’s helm. The White House had confirmed its intention to elevate her earlier this month.
Swett’s appointment came three days after she was sworn in as a commissioner and the same day Energy Secretary Chris Wright directed the panel to propose new rules for speeding the interconnection of “large loads,” such as data centers. to the grid.
“DOE requests, in this case, that the Commission adopt final rules by the end of April, which, in FERC world, is really fast,” said Devin Hartman, director of energy and environmental policy at the R Street Institute, a center-right think tank. “It’s like: ‘Hey, Laura, welcome to FERC!’”
The Senate confirmed Swett and David LaCerte to join FERC in recent weeks. Both passed along party lines in a broader package of nominees.
The change in leadership may slow progress at FERC in the near term, including on Wright’s requests and a long-awaited rule guiding the co-location of large energy users with power plants.
Republican Mark Christie tried to address that issue chair earlier this year, but may not have been able to get enough support before his August departure, said Ari Peskoe, executive director of Harvard Law School’s Environmental Policy Initiative.
Last month, Rosner reiterated the commission was working on such a rule, but added that there were “lots of different opinions” at play.
Tim Furdyna, a partner at law firm K&L Gates, said, “I think there’s always going to be an initial delay in acting on some items, just as a matter of practical necessity. Swett’s going to need to staff her office, get up to speed on what matters are pending before the commission.”
Hartman, a former FERC staffer who worked with Swett at the commission, agreed. “Not knowing who the so-called permanent FERC chair would be” made it difficult for “FERC to stay ahead of the industry and make sure rules are keeping up with load growth and technological gains,” he said.
But the heightened confidence that Swett will be chair for a longer period should help FERC move faster over the long run, said Hartman.
“Now you have a new chair coming in who’s going to have a clear agenda, and that will provide some direction to staff and internal prioritization,” Hartman said.
Energy experts say Swett and Rosner, who remains a FERC commissioner, are likely to share similar priorities. Rosner’s two-month stint as chair — now the second shortest in the agency’s history — saw deliberations on co-location and issue orders expediting natural gas infrastructure.
“I think a big, high priority for Laura Swett is to continue that process, as opposed to really establishing anything new there,” Furdyna said.
