As the U.S. enters the next era of energy, the head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said its top priority is "keeping the lights on."
The U.S. energy sector is in "a really exciting time," Chairman Neil Chatterjee told Cheddar Monday. His agency is charged with overseeing the power grid.
"The U.S. became a net exporter of energy for the first time in 60 years in 2017," Chatterjee said, which has had positive economic benefits for job creation, job growth, according to the chairman. He also said it has helped in international relations because the U.S. has become a major player in the industry that was previously dominated by Russia.
Plus, there is a potential, positive environmental impact.
"U.S. clean [liquified natural gas (LNG)] distorting more carbon-intense sources of fuel in other parts of the world will lead to lower carbon emissions and impact carbon mitigation," he claimed.
Not everyone agrees LNG is good for the environment, as production can increase the release of methane gas. The tonnage of methane emissions is currently smaller than that of carbon dioxide but can be harmful in the short-term. LNG is used in heating, electricity, or other industrial uses.
Chatterjee's agency is reviewing new applications to build LNG terminals in the U.S.
He also noted that while the U.S. has been using tech to excel in the energy sector, it has also opened up the country to greater security threats. "[Our adversaries] are constantly evolving, and we have to evolve to stay one step ahead of them," said Chatterjee.
Within U.S. borders, FERC is charged with overseeing interstate transmission of natural gas, electricity, and oil.
"We at the commission work with stakeholders across the country to ensure that we're incentivizing the right investments so that the grid of the future can be there, a flexible, reliable grid," said Chatterjee.
While the FERC deals with federal energy issues, Chatterjee notes that he is "a firm believer in states' rights," and that the agency has been forced to act when a state enacts energy regulations that have effects beyond its borders, distorting energy markets.
President Donald Trump's administration is appealing a ruling blocking him from immediately firing Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook as he seeks more control over the traditionally independent board. The notice of appeal was filed Wednesday, hours after U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb handed down the ruling. The White House insists the Republican president had the right to fire Cook over mortgage fraud allegations involving properties in Michigan and Georgia from before she joined the Fed. Cook's lawsuit denies the allegations and says the firing was unlawful. The case could soon reach the Supreme Court, which has allowed Trump to fire members of other independent agencies but suggested that power has limitations at the Fed.
Chief Justice John Roberts has let President Donald Trump remove a member of the Federal Trade Commission, the latest in a string of high-profile firings allowed for now by the Supreme Court.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook's lawyer says she'll sue President Donald Trump's administration to try to prevent him from firing her. Longtime Washington attorney Abbe Lowell said Tuesday that Trump “has no authority to remove” Cook. If Trump succeeds in removing Cook from the Fed's board of governors, it could erode the Fed’s political independence, which is considered critical to its ability to fight inflation because it enables the Fed to take unpopular steps like raising interest rates. The Republican president said Monday he was removing Cook because of allegations she committed mortgage fraud. Cook was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden in 2022 and says she won't step down.
Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook late Wednesday said she wouldn’t leave her post after Trump on social media called on her to resign over an accusation from one his officials that she committed mortgage fraud.
Politico's Marcia Brown breaks down the MAHA draft roadmap: industry-friendly, light on regulation, heavy on research and voluntary food policy changes.
