Trump’s Energy Regulator Says Politics Influenced Coal Debate

Outgoing federal energy regulator Neil Chatterjee said Tuesday he bears “some culpability” for the politicization of a docket he created as chairman to examine grid resiliency.

Chatterjee, a former longtime energy aide to GOP leader and coal state Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), referenced at a House hearing his handling of a controversial 2017 proposal from then-Energy Secretary Rick Perry to allow the department to subsidize struggling coal and nuclear power plants in a short-term recovery plan.

As chairman, Chatterjee and the rest of the commission ultimately rejected the proposal in 2018, but he created a “resiliency docket” for regional grid ...