Willie L. Phillips was named by the White House as acting chairman of the Federal Regulatory Commission. He is serving a term on the FERC that ends June 30, 2026.
Phillips succeeded Rich Glick, who lost his bid for a new term after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) expressed concern over Glick’s environmental initiatives and some of the Biden administration’s green commitments. Manchin, who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, did not to hold a confirmation hearing for Glick. Glick left the FERC at the end of December.
Manchin praised Phillips, who has served as a FERC commissioner since December 2021, as a “supremely qualified and reasonable person” and someone who “understands the need to balance affordability and reliability” in energy markets.
The White House said Phillips would chair the FERC until a permanent chairperson can be identified and confirmed by the Senate.
Phillips most recently served as chairman of the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia, named to that role in 2018. He served on the Commission since 2014. He is a regulatory attorney with nearly 20 years of legal expertise in public and private practice, including a background in public utility regulation, bulk power system reliability, and corporate governance.
Prior to being appointed to the DCPSC, Phillips was Assistant General Counsel for the North American Electric Reliability Corporation in Washington, D.C. Before joining NERC, he also worked for two law firms, where he advised clients on energy regulatory compliance and policy matters.
Mr. Phillips has also served on the boards of several organizations, including the board of directors for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and the Organization of PJM States (OPSI). He also has served as president of the Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, and he has held leadership roles on several advisory councils, including the Electric Power Research Institute Advisory Council.
Phillips has a Juris Doctor from Howard University School of Law, and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Montevallo.
