Kurt Ullman wrote:

OK, so he's been on the commission since 2006, meaning he was
appointed by ... um, George W. Bush, right?

That particular commission no more than three may belong to the
same party. He was appointed by GWB but since the Senate has to
confirm, the Dem members of the Senate are usually given wide
latitude to "suggest" commissioners. This is not a "pure" appointment.

It's worse. Wellinghoff is a tree-hugger from the time before trees. His bio
says he's been involved in consumer and conservation law for more than 30
years.

"Chairman Wellinghoff's priorities at FERC include opening wholesale
electric markets to renewable resources, providing a platform for
participation of demand response and other distributed resources in
wholesale electric markets including energy efficiency and plug-in hybrid
electric vehicles (PHEVs), and promoting greater efficiency in our nation's
energy infrastructure..."

No priority for hardening the grid. No priority for meeting energy demand.

Oh well...