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FERC chairman backs regulatory "housecleaning," points to Order 679 as candidate for sunsetting
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Summary
The departing FERC chairman supported executive-order-driven regulatory reviews and suggested sunsetting Order 679 (a transmission-incentive rule), while warning that any removals must comply with the Administrative Procedure Act to avoid court reversal.
Asked about recent executive orders directing agencies to inventory rules for possible sunsetting, the FERC Chairman said the agency faces a late-September deadline and that a regulatory "housecleaning" can be constructive. He said he'd start by targeting Order 679, which he criticized as an unwarranted incentive program that raises costs for consumers.
The chairman cautioned that any regulatory changes must follow the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), or they risk being overturned by courts. "If you sunset anything ... that violates the Administrative Process Act, it's just gonna get overturned by a court," he said, urging procedural compliance.
He framed the review as a way to eliminate archaic or unnecessary rules and noted FERC's large rule count as a rationale for the exercise. The chairman also connected his critique of Order 679 to his broader concern that certain transmission incentives and ROE adders can inflate costs passed to ratepayers.
He acknowledged that the decision to change rules will be subject to internal votes and external checks, and that commissioners should be mindful of consumer impacts when considering regulatory removals.
