Senate Energy Committee Raises Questions About FERC Nominee’s Stance on Natural Gas

A senator on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources opened a confirmation hearing for three nominees to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and pressed one nominee, Judy Chang, to explain past statements he said showed skepticism about natural gas and pipeline development.

The senator introduced Miss Lindsey c, David Rosner and Judy Chang and noted their backgrounds. The senator described Miss Lindsey c as an appellate lawyer who has served seven years as solicitor general in West Virginia, argued before the U.S. Supreme Court and graduated with honors from Patrick Henry College and Harvard Law School. He said Rosner has worked at FERC since 2017 as an energy industry analyst and, most recently, served as a commission detailee to the Senate majority staff.

The bulk of the senator's remarks focused on Chang. The senator said Chang, who "describes herself as an advocate of what she calls a 'clean energy transition,'" developed energy and climate policy for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 2020 to 2023. The senator cited energy-price figures he attributed to Massachusetts in 2023—saying households paid about 84% more than the national average per kilowatt-hour and about 40% more per cubic foot of natural gas—and said those conditions and regional reliability must be part of the committee's review.

The senator cited prior comments attributed to Chang, saying she had argued in 2016 that "the current low price of natural gas . . . sends the wrong signal" for Massachusetts policy, and that in 2018 she asked whether it "makes sense to build more gas pipelines and gas plants" and answered, "to me, it doesn't make sense." The senator framed those prior statements as at odds with FERC’s statutory responsibility "to ensure the development of abundant supplies of natural gas at reasonable prices," and said that history places the burden on the nominee to explain her views.

"The last thing that FERC needs is someone eager to impose the failed policies of Massachusetts upon the rest of our nation," the senator said.

The transcript ends with the chairman or presiding official acknowledging the senator; the hearing proceeded to further consideration and questioning of the nominees.