FERC Fault Lines

This Week's Trend In Brief:

• Just when it seemed like tariffs, grid bottlenecks, and ongoing regulatory upheaval were enough to manage, a new dynamic has emerged in D.C., as President Donald Trump will get to nominate a new commissioner to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

   

• Willie Phillips, FERC commissioner and former chair, resigned last week from the five-member agency, granting Trump the opportunity to nominate someone more aligned with his vision for the U.S. energy future.

   

• Phillips’ departure is likely to push FERC away from Biden-era priorities like regional transmission planning and climate risk considerations, and stakeholders across the energy industry must prepare for the commission’s new direction.

   

• While FERC nominees rarely get caught up in heated confirmation battles, public affairs professionals in the energy industry can’t afford to take a wait-and-see approach but must proactively identify potential nominees and assess how their regulatory philosophy could reshape FERC’s approach to infrastructure, permitting, and energy transition policy.

   

• In a moment defined by political realignment and technological disruption, smart public affairs teams cannot wait for the chips to fall on issues like Trump’s upcoming FERC nomination – they must identify stakeholders, map risk, and anticipate shifts to shape the landscape before it reshapes them.

Digging Deeper:

Just when it seemed like tariffs, grid bottlenecks, and the ongoing regulatory upheaval were enough to manage, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) commissioner and former chair Willie Phillips announced his resignation, creating a vacancy on the five-member agency for President Donald Trump to fill. Phillips, who often served as a consensus-builder between Democratic and Republican commissioners, leaves at a pivotal time for U.S. energy infrastructure, transmission expansion, and grid reliability debates. His departure raises the stakes for the direction of federal energy regulation, just as projects across the sector face heightened scrutiny and a complex permitting process amid a push for deregulation. Trump’s choice to replace Phillips will significantly influence how FERC approaches major rulemakings and project approvals in the coming years, and stakeholders across the industry cannot afford to wait but must prepare now for the nominee and what is to come.  

Phillips’ departure introduces short-term uncertainty and longer-term strategic risk, complicating project approvals and shifting political calculations for infrastructure developers and utilities alike. While some believe FERC can still function without gridlock, operating with only four commissioners raises the real potential for split votes, or overly cautious consensus-building that slows approvals. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to rule on whether courts could intervene in FERC deadlocks, so major decisions could stall or fall into limbo. Infrastructure developers already facing complex approval processes may see timelines stretch further, conditions tighten, or agency leadership punt on controversial rulings altogether. But the implications extend beyond short-term delays, as Trump’s nominee is expected to steer FERC away from Biden-era priorities, shaping how the agency approaches energy infrastructure for years to come.

Indeed, a Trump appointee will likely push FERC away from Biden Administration priorities like regional transmission planning and climate risk considerations, and stakeholders across the industry must prepare for that reality. During his time at FERC, Phillips stated that his “top priorities were grid reliability, transmission expansion and environmental justice and equity.” Now, many of the initiatives advanced under Phillips’ leadership could be stalled, reshaped, or deprioritized in favor of more traditional initiatives. The current partisan divide could “stall approval of some gas pipelines and LNG export projects,” but a Republican nominee could tilt the balance toward expedited permitting and more traditional projects. Phillips’ latest push was for FERC to be more aggressive in finding ways to get data centers, an issue that, as we noted last week, is becoming more prescient by the day. Public affairs professionals and the companies they represent will have to closely monitor the fallout of Phillips’ departure, as well as the potential nominees Trump may select to replace him.

While FERC nominees rarely get caught up in heated confirmation battles, stakeholders across the energy industry cannot afford to wait and see what happens — they must proactively prepare for whoever the nominee is and what posture they bring. With Phillips stepping down, the confirmation process has the potential to become a flashpoint for broader energy debates, from fossil fuel infrastructure to grid modernization and climate risk. To stay ahead of the curve, public affairs teams should work now to identify likely nominees, analyze their regulatory track records, and assess how their appointment could shift agency priorities. By anticipating where pressure may come from and how the nominee might align with or depart from past FERC positions, stakeholders can begin shaping the policy narrative before it hardens. The ability to move early will define who influences outcomes and who is left reacting to them in Trump’s era of “energy dominance.”

For energy companies navigating federal permitting, transmission constraints, and evolving grid demands, Phillips’ resignation is more than a personnel change — it’s a strategic inflection point. The months ahead will require not just watching the confirmation process but actively planning for how a new commissioner could alter FERC’s approach to reliability, clean energy, and infrastructure approvals. That means assessing the stakeholders involved, understanding what pressure will come from where, and preparing for scenarios where regulatory momentum stalls or accelerates unexpectedly. In a moment defined by political realignment and technological disruption, staying reactive is not enough. Public affairs professionals must help their organizations anticipate the road ahead and shape it before someone else does.

Trends in Energy is your weekly look at key trends affecting the energy industry, brought to you by the competitive intelligence experts at Delve. As the political and regulatory landscape continues to shift, reach out to learn how our insights can help you navigate these challenges.

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