McNamee Quoted on Energy Secretary Nomination, FERC Appointment

January 26, 2021

McGuireWoods’ Bernard McNamee was recently quoted on the impact that secretary of energy nominee Jennifer Granholm and new FERC Commissioner Mark Christie may have on key energy and environmental issues.

In a Dec. 17, 2020, World Pipelines story, McNamee said appointing former Michigan Gov. Granholm to be secretary of energy indicates “the Biden Administration wants someone who can help work with the major automakers to transition America to electric vehicles” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

McNamee also was quoted in a Dec. 17, 2020, Politico story, noting that, if confirmed, Granholm “could help link up automakers with the research conducted at the national labs to make key breakthroughs in batteries and vehicle charging.” In the same article, McNamee noted that FERC Commissioner Christie “has a deep understanding of how state policy and federal policy works, and where it may not be working properly. He understands rate making. He will be a positive force on the commission.”

In December 2020, McNamee rejoined McGuireWoods as a partner and joined McGuireWoods Consulting as a senior advisor. He had served at FERC since 2018. During his time with the commission, McNamee was recognized as a leader on important energy issues and participated in more than 1,700 published orders involving wholesale electricity markets, natural gas pipelines, liquefied natural gas export facilities, oil pipeline rates, hydro facilities, reliability standards and ratemaking.