Jon Wellinghoff

Wellinghoff was named Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), by President Barack Obama on March 19, 2009. A member of the Commission since 2006, the U.S. Senate reconfirmed him to a full, five-year FERC term in December 2007. Chairman Wellinghoff is an energy law specialist with more than 34 years experience in the field. Before joining FERC, he was in private practice focusing exclusively on client matters related to renewable energy, energy efficiency and distributed generation. While in the private sector, Chairman Wellinghoff represented an array of clients from federal agencies, renewable developers, and large consumers of power to energy efficient product manufacturers and clean energy advocacy organizations. Chairman Wellinghoff was the primary author of the Nevada Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) Act. In addition, he worked with clients to develop renewable portfolio standards in six other states. The Chairman is considered an expert on the state renewable portfolio process and has lectured extensively on the subject in numerous forums including the Vermont Law School. He has published articles on the electrification of our transportation system, using consumer loads to improve the efficiency of the electric system (known as Demand Response), and the integration of renewable energy into the electric grid. In addition to being a member or Co-Chair of a number of industry organizations, he advises the Energy Foundation and the NRDC on China-U.S. energy policy matters and was designated by the Obama Administration to be a Principal in the U.S./China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. He recently returned from China where he participated in diplomatic discussions with China’s energy leaders, including China’s Energy Minister, Zhang Guobao.