Governors' Wind Energy Coalition

FERC Chairman Kevin McIntyre started swinging the gavel at the agency less than a year ago, and now there’s serious talk that he’s giving it up. FERC is expected to announce that McIntyre will yield the chairmanship, but a couple of important plot points remain unclear even for people inside the building. There are two main ways to give up the title: Either he steps into a commissioner role, or he resigns altogether. Some sources suspect that McIntyre is aiming for the latter but his office has been mum.

The known unknowns: The exact timing of when McIntyre will relinquish the chairmanship remains fuzzy — and, should he resign, if he will wait until a successor is confirmed. Sources suspect that Commissioner Neil Chatterjee, a fellow Republican who briefly served as FERC chairman last year, will once again wield the gavel. Chatterjee is said to have made a trip to the White House on Tuesday but he wasn’t tipping his hand when pressed by reporters on Wednesday at a DOE event. He also appeared with a security detail, which is unusual for a commissioner. Another wrinkle is that McIntyre isn’t expected to attend today’s FERC meeting, much the way he couldn’t attend the September session because of his health. FERC, unsurprisingly, declined to comment but ME wouldn’t be surprised if the big news happens at the end of the meeting, when most commissioners announce these kinds of things.