Joseph T. Kelliher

Joseph T. Kelliher as Chairman of FERC 2005

Joseph Timothy Kelliher (born January 17, 1961) is an American energy executive and former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Kelliher received his bachelor's degree from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in 1983. In 1994^[1] he graduated with a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Washington College of Law at American University.^[2] After law school, Kelliher worked in a private law firm and then on the staff of U.S. Representative Joe Barton, a Republican from Texas. He served briefly as the director of legislative programs for the American Nuclear Energy Council and represented Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSEG) until 1995.

In 1995 he went to work for the U.S. House Committee on Commerce as Republican (majority) counsel for oversight over DOE on electricity, nuclear waste, hydropower, and energy conservation matters. After leaving the Hill in 2000, he briefly reenterred the private practice of law, and also served on the Bush/Cheney Presidential Transition Team in late 2000 and early 2001.^[3] Kelliher then went to work for the Department of Energy (DOE) where he served as a senior policy advisor on electricity and other domestic energy issues, including doing staff work for the Energy Task Force.

Kelliher was appointed to FERC by president George W. Bush in October 2001, but did not receive his hearing in front of the Senate committee until 2003.^[4] and took office on November 20, 2003. On July 9, 2005 he was appointed chairman, replacing Patrick H. Wood III. During the appointment process there were charges that he enjoyed too cozy a relationship with industry lobbyists and had, as a member of Vice President Richard Cheney's energy task force, helped write President Bush's National Energy Policy in such a way that would be financially beneficial to energy companies at the expense of consumers.^[5] Following the Enron scandal he worked to reduce market manipulation and volatility. He created two new divisions at FERC, the Office of Enforcement^[6] to investigate violations of FERC requirements, especially as regard to market manipulation, and the Office of Electric Reliability^[6] to review and improve the grid's reliability standards. He left FERC in January 2009 to become Executive Vice President for Federal Regulatory Affairs for NextEra Energy, Inc. (FPL Group).^[7]

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