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Phillips joined the commission in December, 2021 after being
appointed by Biden and approved by Congress. Phillips will be the
first Black person to take the reigns at FERC.
Before coming to FERC Phillips served as the chairman of the Public
Service Commission of the District of Columbia, starting in 2018,
where he championed issues of environmental justice and equity. He
was also a regulatory attorney with nearly 20 years in public and
private practice.
The independent panel of the Department of Energy long had a low-key
profile and was mainly known for approving natural gas pipelines and
export terminals for liquefied natural gas, or LNG. After Phillips
joined FERC, that began to change as Democrats had a 3-2 majority
and the Biden administration pursued policies to transition to
low-carbon energy.
But now Phillips is acting chairman, FERC will be locked at a 2-2
because the former head, Richard Glick, left FERC after Senator Joe
Manchin, a conservative Democrat, did not hold a confirmation
hearing to consider Biden's re-nomination of Glick. Analysts said
FERC may not take up many issues beyond power transmission
rulemakings during the deadlock.
Phillips will serve as temporary chief of the commission as the
Biden administration considers nominating a permanent chair.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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