Between the Senate filibuster, a Supreme Court stacked against clean energy regulatory reform, and the White House’s lack of jurisdiction over state energy policy, President Biden is almost unable to touch the electric sector at all.
That leaves nominations to the up until recently little know Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as one of the most powerful tools the White House has to electrify our power sector. When a spot on the Commission opened, Casten launched a viral communications campaign using his penchant for terrible dad jokes to push for President Biden to nominate and the Senate to confirm a climate-focused FERC Commissioner with the urgency the climate crisis demands. Thanks in part to Casten’s Hot FERC Summer campaign—during which he gave a series of speeches invoking Meghan Thee Stallion’s Hot FERC Summer, Fergie’s FERCalicious, and Dolly Parton’s FERCING 9 to 5—the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission now has a climate-focused 3-2 Democratic Majority for the first time in years.
You can view Congressman Casten’s FERCalicious speech on his twitter.
As a scientist, clean energy entrepreneur and CEO, and now as a Member of Congress, Congressman Sean Casten has dedicated his life to fighting climate change. In Congress, Casten
draws on his two decades of experience as a business leader to reduce emissions while creating jobs, lowering energy costs for Americans, and spurring economic growth.
Casten serves on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and is the Vice Chair of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets. He also serves as Co-Chair of the New Democrat Coalition Climate Change Task Force.
This talk took place on February 17, 2022, at 7:00 pm EDT.