Administrative State
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TheFederal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is an independent federal agency responsible for regulating the interstate transmission ofelectricity,crude oil, andnatural gas. In addition, FERC regulateshydroelectric dams and oversees utility mergers.^[1][2]

Overview

History

The Federal Power Commission (FPC), the predecessor to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), was formed in 1920 to coordinate federal hydroelectric projects. The commission began operating under the administration of the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Agriculture. All commission employees (with the exception of the FPC Executive Secretary) were borrowed from these departments. In 1928, Congress authorized the FPC to hire its own personnel. In 1930, a five-member, bipartisan commission was formed to govern the FPC.^[3]

From 1935 to 1967, the jurisdiction of the FPC broadened due to congressional acts and court cases. These acts and cases included the following:^[3]

• The enactment of the Federal Power Act of 1935 and the Natural Gas Act of 1938, which authorized the FPC to regulate the sale and transport of electricity and natural gas
• The U.S. Supreme Court's 1954 decision inPhillips Petroleum Co. v. Wisconsin, which held that the FPC had jurisdiction over facilities producing natural gas sold in interstate commerce
• The U.S. Supreme Court's 1964 decision inCity of Colton v. SoCal Edison, which held that the FPC had jurisdiction over intrastate sales of power transmitted across state lines

The FPC was reorganized in 1977 as FERC.^[3]

Mission

The commission's mission statement is as follows:^[4]

Responsibilities

FERC listed the following responsibilities related to its regulatory functions on its website:^[1]

Commission members

The commission is composed of up to five members appointed by thePresident of the United States with the advice and consent of theUnited States Senate. Commission members serve five-year terms and no more than three members may belong to the same political party.^[6]

For a list of the members of the commission as of June 2025, see the table below.^[7]

Organization chart

Click here to view the FERC's organizational chart.

Budget and finance

FERC is financed through annual charges and filing fees on regulated industries. Upon collecting fees, FERC deposits the funds in theUnited States Treasury to offset the funds appropriated by theUnited States Congress to the agency (resulting in net appropriations of zero). The table below summarizes the commission's collections and appropriations for fiscal years 2021 through 2023.^[8]

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the termsFederal Energy Regulatory Commission. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Energy in the 50 states

Click on a state below to read more about that state's energy policy.

See also

• 

  Energy policy in the United States

• 

  Fracking in the United States

• 

  Glossary of energy terms

Footnotes

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v • e The Administrative State Main The Administrative State Project main page •Administrative State Project Index •Glossary of administrative state terms •Quotes about the administrative state •Administrative state •Rulemaking •Deference •Adjudication •Nondelegation doctrine •Ballotpedia's administrative state legislation tracker Pillars Agency control •Executive control •Judicial control •Legislative control •Public control Reporting Changes to the Federal Register •Completed OIRA review of federal administrative agency rules •Federal agency rules repealed under the Congressional Review Act •Historical additions to the Federal Register, 1936-2016 Laws Administrative Procedure Act •Antiquities Act •Civil Service Reform Act •Clayton Antitrust Act •Communications Act of 1934 •Congressional Review Act •Electronic Freedom of Information Act •Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 •Federal Housekeeping Statute •Federal Reserve Act •Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 •Freedom of Information Act •Government in the Sunshine Act •Independent Offices Appropriations Act of 1952 •Information Quality Act •Interstate Commerce Act •National Labor Relations Act •Paperwork Reduction Act •Pendleton Act •Privacy Act of 1974 •Regulatory Flexibility Act •REINS Act •REINS Act (Wisconsin) •Securities Act of 1933 •Securities Exchange Act of 1934 •Sherman Antitrust Act •Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act •Truth in Regulating Act •Unfunded Mandates Reform Act Cases Abbott Laboratories v. 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Western Pacific Railroad Co. •Universal Camera Corporation v. National Labor Relations Board •Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Natural Resources Defense Council •Wayman v. Southard •Weyerhaeuser Company v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service •Whitman v. American Trucking Associations •Wickard v. Filburn •Wiener v. United States Terms Adjudication (administrative state) •Administrative judge •Administrative law •Administrative law judge •Administrative state •Arbitrary-or-capricious test •Auer deference •Barrier to entry •Bootleggers and Baptists •Chevron deference (doctrine) •Civil servant •Civil service •Code of Federal Regulations •Codify (administrative state) •Comment period •Compliance costs •Congressional Record •Coordination (administrative state) •Deference (administrative state) •Direct and indirect costs (administrative state) •Enabling statute •Ex parte communication (administrative state) •Executive agency •Federal law •Federal Register •Federalism •Final rule •Formal rulemaking •Formalism (law) •Functionalism (law) •Guidance (administrative state) •Hybrid rulemaking •Incorporation by reference •Independent federal agency •Informal rulemaking •Joint resolution of disapproval (administrative state) •Major rule •Negotiated rulemaking •Nondelegation doctrine •OIRA prompt letter •Organic statute •Pragmatism (law) •Precautionary principle •Promulgate •Proposed rule •Publication rulemaking •Regulatory budget •Regulatory capture •Regulatory dark matter •Regulatory impact analysis •Regulatory policy officer •Regulatory reform officer •Regulatory review •Rent seeking •Retrospective regulatory review •Risk assessment (administrative state) •Rulemaking •Separation of powers •Significant regulatory action •Skidmore deference •Statutory authority •Substantive law and procedural law •Sue and settle •Sunset provision •Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions •United States Code •United States Statutes at Large Bibliography "Administrative Law - The 20th Century Bequeaths an 'Illegitimate Exotic' in Full and Terrifying Flower" by Stephen P. Dresch (2000) "Confronting the Administrative Threat" by Philip Hamburger and Tony Mills (2017) "Constitutionalism after the New Deal" by Cass R. Sunstein (1987) Federalist No. 23 by Alexander Hamilton (1787) "From Administrative State to Constitutional Government" by Joseph Postell (2012) "Interring the Nondelegation Doctrine" by Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule (2002) "Rulemaking as Legislating" by Kathryn Watts (2015) "The Checks & Balances of the Regulatory State" by Paul R. Verkuil (2016) "The Myth of the Nondelegation Doctrine" by Keith E. Whittington and Jason Iuliano (2017) "The Progressive Origins of the Administrative State: Wilson, Goodnow, and Landis" by Ronald J. Pestritto (2007) "The Rise and Rise of the Administrative State" by Gary Lawson (1994) "The Study of Administration" by Woodrow Wilson (1887) "The Threat to Liberty" by Steven F. Hayward (2017) "Why the Modern Administrative State Is Inconsistent with the Rule of Law" by Richard A. Epstein (2008) Agencies Administrative Conference of the United States •United States Civil Service Commission •U.S. Government Accountability Office •U.S. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs •U.S. Office of Management and Budget