Dive Brief:

• The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has set a date Sept. 7 to vote on two of President Donald Trump’s nominees for vacant spots at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

• If the committee votes in favor of Richard Glick and Kevin McIntyre, they will join recently confirmed FERC officials Neil Chatterjee and Robert Powelson.

• FERC has been without a three person quorum needed to conduct its business since February when Chairman Norman Bay resigned. Democrats also hesitated to vote on Powelson and Chatterjee until Glick's confirmation process was officially set in motion. But the Senate restored the quorum yesterday after confirming Chatterjee and Powelson. 

Dive Insight:

FERC has been without a quorum since February, and since June when Colette Honorable stepped down, there has been only a single commissioner, acting Chairman Cheryl LaFleur. That has left decisions on about $14 billion of pipeline and transmission projects in limbo until a quorum is restored, according to Bloomberg. 

Trump nominated McIntyre, a Republican, who leads the energy practice at Jones Day, as FERC chairman in mid-July, but it took several weeks for the paperwork to move to Capitol Hill.

Glick’s nomination was announced in June. He is a Democrat and serves as the Democratic General Counsel for the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. McIntyre, Chatterjee and Powelson first surfaced as potential nominees in March, with Chatterjee and Powelson confirmed by a full Senate vote on Thursday. 

FERC comprises up to five commissioners appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate. Commissioners serve five year terms. The commission must be made up of Republicans and Democrats, with the chairman from the party of the president.