Federal Energy Official Chosen for FERC Post

Joseph T. Kelliher, an Energy Department official and attorney with more than a decade of experience in national energy policy, has been nominated by President Bush to a vacancy on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Kelliher, 40, was previously a senior aide to the House Commerce Committee and to Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), the chairman of the energy and air quality subcommittee. Samantha Jordan, a spokeswoman for Barton, said the congressman lobbied the White House on Kelliher’s behalf and rounded up other GOP lawmakers to support his nomination, which was announced Tuesday.

If confirmed by the Senate, Kelliher is expected to take a less activist approach to regulatory issues than did FERC Chairman Patrick H. Wood III, said a Democratic congressional official. However, Kelliher’s presence on FERC’s five-member board is not expected to radically alter the agency’s direction. Instead, he will bring a Washington perspective to a board dominated by former state regulators.

FERC serves as a kind of national utility commission and is heavily involved in monitoring California’s recovery from its energy crisis. In June, the agency imposed price limits on wholesale electricity throughout the West after months of being criticized for following a hands-off policy toward California.

Born in New York City, Kelliher came to Washington to study for a career in the foreign service. But after graduating from Georgetown University in 1983, he instead went to work on energy issues for Barton and Republicans on the House Commerce Committee. He later earned a law degree from American University.

After a stint as a lobbyist with a utility company, he returned to Capitol Hill as counsel for the Commerce committee. In that role, he helped write an electric deregulation bill that Congress ultimately failed to pass.

After Bush won the presidential election last year, Kelliher served on the White House transition team.

Kelliher also assisted Vice President Dick Cheney in formulating the administration’s energy policy, now sidetracked in Congress. He then went to the Energy Department as a senior policy advisor on electricity issues.

Kelliher would replace former FERC Chairman Curtis L. Hebert Jr., who resigned this summer. If Kelliher is confirmed the board would be made up of three Republicans and two Democrats.