FERC Chairman Plans to Step Down on June 30

Top U.S. energy regulator Patrick H. Wood, who helped direct policy during some of the nation’s most severe energy crises, said Wednesday that he would resign as expected when his four-year term ends June 30.

Wood was chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission during a tumultuous tenure that began in 2001 during California’s energy crisis and included the August 2003 blackout that left about 50 million people without power across the Northeast and parts of Canada.

When he began, Wood said he would serve only four years, and at a news conference Wednesday, he said he, his wife and three sons planned to return to Texas, where he once served on the state’s Public Utility Commission.

“I am proud of what we accomplished to solve problems and make markets work better for customers,” said Wood in a letter to President Bush.

During his tenure, Wood, 42, drew the ire of consumer activists and politicians, especially in California, for what they considered inadequate sanctions imposed on companies that exploited the marketplace during the energy crisis of early 2000 and 2001 -- a time of record power prices, rolling blackouts and severe financial problems for Edison International’s Southern California Edison Co. and PG&E; Corp.’s Pacific Gas & Electric Co.

Despite disagreements, energy activists such as Michael Shames, executive director of the Utility Consumers’ Action Network, a consumer watchdog group in San Diego, said Wednesday that they respected Wood, calling him a man of integrity who always listened.

“But still I’m glad to see him go,” Shames said. “I hope we get someone a little more activist and more sympathetic to California. We disagreed on everything.”

Gary Ackerman, executive director for the nonprofit Western Power Trading Forum, said Wood had taken on a “very, very tough job and put up with quite a bit of verbal abuse.”

“He tried to achieve a balance between the needs of consumers and those of people who build power plants,” Ackerman said.

Wood, a soft-spoken regulator and native of Port Arthur, Texas, arrived at FERC at a time when many Californians, led by then-Gov. Gray Davis, blamed the energy panel for failing to protect the state during the energy meltdown.

During his term, Wood favored reaching compromise settlements with energy suppliers accused of misconduct in California, but that approach has met with growing criticism.

With Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s election, some had seen a recent thaw in the relationship between Wood, a Republican, and state officials. Schwarzenegger had declared on his campaign website that the state should “take a look” at Wood’s proposals for restructuring energy markets.

But controversies have persisted.

Late last year, a U.S. appeals court said FERC had failed to protect California utility customers during the energy crisis and ordered the panel to consider an additional $2.8 billion in refunds on top of the $3 billion suggested by FERC. The state and major utilities are seeking almost $9 billion in restitution for electricity overcharges during the energy crisis.

Wood also disappointed Californians by his vote in 2003 to uphold the sanctity of long-term energy contracts signed by the state at the height of the energy crisis. Critics argued that such contracts should not be considered valid, but Wood sided with FERC’s majority in finding that federal law did not provide a basis for overturning them.

Some activists said Wood’s replacement as chairman was expected to be FERC Commissioner Joseph T. Kelliher, also a Republican.