FERC to kill policy office under Trump-ordered reorg

Devin Hartman, director of energy and environment policy with the conservative think tank R Street Institute, said that much of the impact of the reorganization would depend on “how exactly [staff members] will be repurposed.”

One probable outcome of the restructuring, Hartman said, would be a dramatic reduction in agency-led rulemaking and increased deference to the markets.

“It sets up a lot of motivation for market participants to file complaints,” Hartman said. He contrasted the complaints process, which puts participants’ requests on the record, with a rulemaking process that often starts with informal conversations between stakeholders and FERC.