Glick's ticking clock

Mar 23, 2022

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With help from Kelsey Tamborrino

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QUICK FIX

— FERC Chair Rich Glick's effort to infuse the regulator's policies with bold climate and environmental justice action are putting him in a tight spot as his term nears its end.

— President Joe Biden and European leaders look set to take new action to move off Russian energy, but the White House isn't saying yet what it has up its sleeve.

— Russian hackers scanned the networks of several U.S. energy companies recently, according to an FBI alert obtained by POLITICO.

HAPPY WEDNESDAY! I'm your host, Matthew Choi. Sadly, no one knew that the shortest transit route for drivers from West Germany to West Berlin was the Helmstedt/Marienborn-Berlin route. For today's trivia: What font is named after the Latin name for Switzerland? Send your tips and trivia answers to mchoi@politico.com. Find me on Twitter @matthewchoi2018.

Check out the POLITICO Energy podcast — all the energy and environmental politics and policy news you need to start your day, in just five minutes. Listen and subscribe for free at politico.com/energy-podcast. On today's episode: Why FERC Chair Glick is in the hot seat.

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Driving The Day

TICK TOCK ON GLICK'S CLOCK?: FERC Chair Rich Glick has charged ahead implementing the Biden administration's environmental goals, pushing for greater climate and environmental considerations in energy infrastructure permitting. But he's also garnered some stiff criticism from Republicans, industry interests and Senate Energy Chair Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) — which could put him in a tight spot with his term set to this summer, POLITICO's Catherine Morehouse reports.

The commission faced a grilling at the Senate Energy Committee recently over its new policy statements putting greater emphasis on environmental justice and climate concerns in natural gas projects. Manchin told reporters last week that Glick "went way out of his wheelhouse" with the policy statement and should "just do your damn job." His office declined to say if he would vote for Glick if he were reappointed, and Manchin's opposition was a major factor in Sarah Bloom Raskin's withdrawal from the running for a top Federal Reserve gig.

Democrats currently have a majority on the commission, and clean energy and climate groups fear that if the commission falls back into a 2-2 split, it could stall the roll out of vital clean energy projects including transmission policy and market rule updates. FERC's role in advancing a clean energy transition and environmental justice priorities has ballooned recently with legislative vehicles to do so in BBB falling by the wayside.

Glick can serve until the end of 2022 or someone else replaces him after his term expires. And some of his supporters say he's already laid out a strong foundation that any successor could easily carry on. Read more from Catherine.

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Around the Agencies

THURSDAY SANCTIONS: National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan teased a series of actions that President Joe Biden will take with allies during his trip to Europe, including a "joint action on European energy security and reducing Europe's dependence on Russian gas, at long last," he told reporters Tuesday. Biden's expected to reveal the plan Thursday, and in the meantime, Sullivan and the Europeans aren't offering up details.

Biden leaves for Brussels today for an emergency NATO summit, as well as meetings with G-7 and EU leaders. He'll discuss further sanctions on Russia and bolstering defense on NATO's eastern flank. When asked about the sanctions Tuesday, Sullivan kept his cards close and said they would also include measures to clamp down on "any attempt by any country to help Russia basically undermine, weaken or get around the sanctions."

Sullivan also reiterated that the administration recognized many European countries don't have the option to fully block Russian energy imports as the United States has — a point Biden stressed when first announcing the import ban — and said the president did not intend to pressure European leaders to do so. Russia accounted for 20 percent of the EU's oil imports in 2020 and over 40 percent of its natural gas.

When asked during an International Energy Agency press call Tuesday how Europe could wean itself off of Russian energy, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm pushed IEA's recent 10-point plan to reduce dependence on oil, including consumer-focused measures such as reducing speed limits and working from home as much as possible. She also said the U.S. was doing its part by "exporting every molecule of liquefied natural gas that we possibly can" and asking other countries to do the same.

JENNIFER IN PARIS: Granholm's call came she visits Paris this week to attend the IEA ministerial, which brings together energy ministers, diplomats and business leaders, including representatives from the oil and gas industry. It will include conversations on clean energy research, securing critical minerals supply chains and policies to support communities in transition.

"This is truly an all-hands-on-deck moment," she said. "Everyone has a role to play and that includes the oil and gas industry, that includes the IEA and that includes the clean energy businesses that can help us transition."

Granholm reiterated the government's calls on oil and gas producers to boost output, but acknowledged a ramp up will take time. "You can't just flip the switch and have [rigs] come on overnight," she said. "But we feel confident that there will be a significant increase in supply by the end of this year, and we're hopeful that they live up to that."

RUSSIANS BREAK IN: Russian hackers scanned the networks of several American energy companies, potentially portending a more aggressive attack, the FBI warned industry recently. The Russian IP addresses behind the scanning activity "are believed to be associated with cyber actors who previously conducted destructive cyber activity against foreign critical infrastructure," the bureau said in the March 18 alert obtained by POLITICO's Eric Geller.

The alert came just a few days before Biden himself warned the private sector to up its cybersecurity protections over the possibility of a Russian attack, citing "evolving intelligence". Granholm said in her IEA call that "we have issued for all of our companies, electricity companies, oil and gas companies, a 'shields up' posture, asking them to be on hyper alert."

Several American defense, IT and financial firms were also subjected to Russian scanning. Read more from Eric.

SURGE PRICING: California-based Auxin Solar is warning the Commerce Department about evidence that shows "an enormous volume" of imported photovoltaic cells and modules "surging" into the United States, ahead of the department's decision on Auxin's petition to expand tariffs on imports from China to include equipment imported from Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Commerce is expected to make its decision on whether to open an investigation by the end of the week.

"This flood of imports is a naked attempt by these exporters to double-down on their circumventing behavior and to stockpile solar cells and modules" to avoid anti-dumping and countervailing duties, the Auxin filing said . It points to recent data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection that shows a surge of imported CSPV cells, including 1.6 gigawatts in one week.

The solar industry is closely watching the looming decision. Last week, SEIA President Abigail Ross Hopper warned that should Commerce decide to initiate an investigation, the immediate impact to the industry would be "significant [and] chilling." She added that Auxin's petition covers about 80 percent of incoming imports into the United States, making it "hard to overstate what it would mean" if the agency takes up the complaint.

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On the Hill

EPW TAKES ON ENERGY SECURITY: The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee gathers to discuss climate-centered solutions for energy security today, and will hear from a mix of advocates including former Navy Secretary Raymond Mabus, Electrification Coalition VP of Policy Katherine Stainken, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association CEO Jim Matheson and Western Energy Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma.

Chair Tom Carper plans to stress the role of both clean energy investments in the bipartisan infrastructure package and the need for further legislation to push ahead a clean energy transition. Democrats have framed surging energy costs and Europe's dependence on Russian fossil fuels as a clarion call to push for energy independence through domestic clean energy, and Carper plans to "set the record straight on the primary drivers of the higher prices that Americans are paying at the pump — Vladimir Putin's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the pandemic," a Carper aide told ME.

The Senate Energy Committee held a hearing two weeks ago that zeroed in on the weaponization of energy following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That hearing largely centered on ways to secure or bolster U.S. energy production, including fossil fuels, and keeping consumer prices down, rather than ways to combat climate change.

EPW will hear some similar perspectives today, with NRECA'S Matheson, a former Democratic member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, set to stress the need for a strategy "inclusive of all energy sources to maintain reliability and affordability," according to his statement to the committee. Calling a net-zero grid by 2035 an "overly ambitious goal," Matheson also plans to push tax credits and permit streamlining to ensure an energy transition doesn't jeopardize reliability.

IN THE HOUSE: The Energy and Commerce Committee has scheduled a hearing on water infrastructure updates for next Tuesday. The committee will go into the bipartisan infrastructure package's investments in lead pipe removal, infrastructure updates and PFAS clean up and "what more must be done to deliver clean, safe drinking water to all American families for years to come."

Water infrastructure is on a lot of lawmakers minds, with the Water Resources Development Act up for renewal. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee recently held a hearing opening the floor for their peers to share their priorities for the legislation. Any portions of that package that might deal with drinking water would fall under Energy and Commerce's purview.

Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) also introduced legislation Tuesday that seeks to tackle gaps in clean water access. The Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Sector Development Act would create a working group to increase data on household clean water access and create a grant program to help community organizations. Read the bill here.

GRANHOLM IN DEMAND: E&C is also planning a hearing in two weeks to grill executives from six oil and gas companies about the record high retail gasoline prices. But ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers wants to turn the tables on Democrats, and she's asked Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to attend, calling the hearing "an attempt to deflect blame for the impact the Biden-Harris administration's rush-to-green policies are having on domestic energy production."

Granholm has called on the oil and gas industry to hike output to help offset the loss of Russian energy imports and calm market anxieties following the invasion of Ukraine, and Rodgers urged Granholm to explain how the administration plans to increase domestic supply. DOE didn't respond to ME's request for comment. Read Rodgers' letter here.

PROTECTING THE PIPES: Reps. Frank Lucas (Okla.) and Randy Weber (Texas), Republican leaders on the House Science Committee, also invited Granholm to brief committee staff on how the administration plans to protect LNG infrastructure from cybersecurity attacks. Securing the LNG supply has become critical as Europe tries to reduce its dependence on Russia, Lucas and Weber said. And with last year's Colonial Pipeline hack fresh in memory, the lawmakers write "adversaries could create dire energy insecurity with a disruption to United States LNG production and exports."

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

Beyond the Beltway

TOTAL HITS PAUSE ON RUSSIA: French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies is gradually suspending its operations in Russia and will not put new capital into projects in the country, the company announced Tuesday. It will also not renew or enter into new contracts to buy Russian oil and petroleum products, and it plans to halt its purchases as soon as possible with a year-end deadline.

The company has recently come under fire for not joining the likes of BP and Shell from fully cutting off Russia, saying in its Tuesday announcement that it came under "serious and unfounded accusations" of "complicity in war crimes". Total defended its approach, asserting an abrupt departure would simply put its assets in Russian hands in the absence of foreign buyers — undermining the goals of the sanctions. The company also emphasized that it did not operate any oil and gas fields or LNG plants in Russia.

CLEAN ENERGY RELEASES ENERGY TRANSITION GOALS: The American Clean Power Association will announce a new "Energy Transition for All" initiative today to ensure that workers and those historically left behind stand to benefit from the clean energy transition. As part of the effort, the trade group is issuing a report today highlighting three pillars of action for the clean power sector.

Those pillars include expanding opportunity for workers; creating value for communities through supply chains, targeted investments and local economic development; and taking a lead on diversity and inclusion.

The Grid

— "Will War Make Europe's Switch to Clean Energy Even Harder?" via The New York Times.

— "BPU hears plans from offshore wind developers to avoid local opposition, hold down costs," via POLITICO.

— " Tornadoes touch down in New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward, Arabi, kill one," via The New Orleans Times-Picayune.

— "Tech Billionaires Rally Around Nuclear as Energy Crisis Looms," via Bloomberg.

— "Environmental groups sue Interior Department for oil lease report draft," via POLITICO.

THAT'S ALL FOR ME!

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