Trump makes Laura Swett FERC chair. What will be her focus?

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!’”…

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.