Joseph T. Kelliher
Joseph Timothy Kelliher | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 17, 1961 |
| Occupation(s) | Energy executive, lawyer |
| Known for | Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission |
Joseph Timothy Kelliher (born January 17, 1961) is a prominent American executive in the energy sector and a former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Education
In 1983, Kelliher obtained his bachelor's degree from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He later earned a Juris Doctor degree, graduating magna cum laude from the Washington College of Law at American University in 1994.
Career
Kelliher initially practiced law privately before joining the staff of U.S. Representative Joe Barton, a Republican from Texas. He served as legislative programs director for the American Nuclear Energy Council and represented Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSEG) until 1995.
In 1995, he became Republican counsel for the U.S. House Committee on Commerce, where he was responsible for issues related to electricity, nuclear waste, hydropower, energy conservation, DOE, and FERC. During his tenure, he managed multiple legislative initiatives that were enacted into law and authored the initial comprehensive electricity legislation that paved the way for the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
After a brief return to private legal practice in 2000, Kelliher joined the Bush/Cheney Presidential Transition Team and subsequently served as senior policy advisor at the Department of Energy focusing on electricity and domestic energy matters. He played a key role in shaping the federal government's response to the California and Western Power Crisis between 2000 and 2001 and was a principal architect of the Bush Administration's National Energy Strategy (2001–2009).
President George W. Bush nominated Kelliher in 2001; he was confirmed by the Senate in 2003 and assumed his role at FERC that November. Elevated to chairman in July 2005, he prioritized addressing market manipulation and price instability by establishing FERC's Office of Enforcement and Office of Electric Reliability. Under his guidance, FERC initiated significant investigations into market abuses resulting in substantial fines and introduced the country’s inaugural mandatory electric reliability standards.
Kelliher directed the execution of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which greatly broadened FERC’s regulatory powers. He resigned from FERC in March 2009 to become Executive Vice President for Federal Regulatory Affairs at NextEra Energy, Inc. (formerly FPL Group), recognized as the largest U.S.-based electric utility with operations across various regulated sectors nationwide. He left NextEra Energy in October 2020.