Nevadan Wellinghoff gives up chairmanship of federal energy board

WASHINGTON — Jon Wellinghoff, a Nevadan and one of government’s top energy regulators, is stepping down as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Wellinghoff submitted his resignation to President Barack Obama on Tuesday, although a FERC spokesman said he will continue to serve as chairman and take part in FERC votes until a successor is named and confirmed by the Senate.

Wellinghoff’s term expires at the end of June. As a practical matter his announced resignation signaled he did not intend to serve another term.

Wellinghoff, who turns 64 on Thursday, did not comment on his resignation and has not indicated his plans after he leaves the agency. FERC did not plan to release his letter to Obama, the spokesman said.

FERC is the federal agency that regulates the transmission and sales of electricity, oil and gas in interstate commerce. It has about 1,500 employees and is headed by a five-member commission with a chairman designated by the president.

As chairman, Wellinghoff has promoted regulations that seek to integrate renewable energy into the nation’s transmission systems, and to encourage energy efficiencies.

He also expanded the agency’s policing of power markets, including a proposed $470 million fine against Barclays, the British bank, for alleged market manipulation.

Wellinghoff, a Democrat, was appointed to the commission in 2006 and was named FERC chairman in March 2009. He was one of several individuals with Nevada ties who were promoted in government posts by the newly elected Obama at the recommendation of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Others included Bob Abbey, who became head of the Bureau of Land Management after heading the agency’s Nevada office, and Gregory Jaczko, a former Reid aide who was named chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Wellinghoff was raised in Reno and was a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno.

He was an energy law specialist and primary author of the Nevada renewable portfolio standard that requires energy providers to draw 25 percent of all electricity from renewable sources by 2025.

Wellinghoff served two terms as the state’s consumer advocate for public utility customers.

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Follow him on Twitter @STetreaultDC.