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Updated November 7th, 2020 at 10:13 IST

Donald Trump replaces advocate of clean energy Neil Chatterjee as FERC chief

Ahead of the 2020 US Election results, the chairman of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Neil Chatterjee has been replaced

Reported by: Janvi Manchanda
Donald Trump fires FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee, ahead of US Election results
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Ahead of the 2020 US Election results, Donald Trump replaced the chairman of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Neil Chatterjee, a position he’s held for past two years. Chatterjee alleges that this could be retribution for supporting clean energy. On the other hand, Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden seems to be gaining on Trump as vote count turns out in his favour. 

Trump fires FERC Chairman

According to CNN reports, President Donald Trump has quietly demoted Neil Chatterjee which was announced by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Thursday evening. The chairman is being replaced by James Danly who has recently opposed the FERC orders to support clean energy after becoming a commissioner in March. Neither the White House nor FERC has issued any statements or commented on the reason behind this change, according to CNN. 

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As per the report, Neil Chatterjee will continue to remain a FERC commissioner. Neil Chatterjee is a Republican and a former energy advisor to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. He was first nominated to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by Donald Trump in May 2017. 

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Recently, Neil Chatterjee had supported the policies in favour of clean energy which supports electric vehicles and rooftop solar among other clean energy solutions. This comes as he has closely witnessed the impact that the decline of the coal industry which has led to economic devastation. Donald Trump on the other hand has repeatedly supported coal as a fuel source which has been rapidly losing the battle against solar and wind. 

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Speaking to CNN on Friday, Chatterjee stated that he did expect 'blowback' while adding that the cause of the demotion still remains 'speculation' but he had made peace with the change even if it is true. He further added that he believes he did the 'right thing' and is proud of himself. Other than this, several analysts have stated that this blowback is probably related to Neil's support for clean energy, while the American Council on Renewable Energy expressed its astonishment at the replacement of the FERC chairman. 

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Soon after the change, Neil took to Twitter to share his thoughts while congratulating Danly for his promotion. He further added that his work isn't finished yet and he looks toward to continue working as a commissioner at FERC. Neil Chatterjee also stated that he is proud of everything that was achieved under his leadership. 

"I’ve had the privilege of overseeing so many important actions from FERC. Just to name a few - LNG application approvals, Order 841, Order2222, and most recently carbon pricing. But we’re not done yet. Back to work!" he said in a recent tweet. 

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US Elections 2020

The US Presidential elections for 2020 ended on November 3 but the results have not yet been announced. As the vote-counting continues Democratic candidate Joe Biden seems to have taken the lead over the Republican candidate and current US President Donald Trump in several states including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan and Wiscon along with several others. This has taken Biden closer to the magical number of electoral college votes, 270, that he needs to win the US Presidential elections. As the Democratic Presidential candidate gains considerable lead over the Republican Presidential candidate in several key battleground states, Trump has been channelling the vote counts in crucial states of Michigan and Wisconsin citing 'irregularities' as the several counties of the two states did not allow the President's team to witness the counting process. While Georgia is set to recount the votes to ensure 'accuracy' Trump and Republicans continue to claim 'voter-fraud' and accuse Democrats of trying to 'steal the elections'. Currently, Joe Biden has taken the lead with 253 electoral college votes against Donald Trump's 213 votes, as per the recent updates by CNN. 

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(With inputs from ANI & AP)

 

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Published November 7th, 2020 at 10:13 IST

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