FERC Chairman Announces Sitaraman as Deputy Director, Office of Public Participation

Summary:

FERC Chairman Rich Glick announced Nicole Sitaraman has joined the Office of Public Participation (OPP)as Deputy Director. The OPP is the newest office at FERC, created last year to help the public engage with the Commissionʼs regulatory processes. Sitaraman has significant experience in clean energy policy, environmental justice, consumer advocacy, and stakeholder engagement. She comes to FERC from Sustainable Capital Advisors, where she served as Vice President of External Affairs and Policy. Before that she served as Senior Manager of Public Policy at Sunrun, Inc. Sitaraman also served as an Assistant People’s Counsel in the Office of the People’s Counsel for the District of Columbia. Sitaraman is a member of the District of Columbia Commission on Climate Change and Resilience, and she is an advisory board member at the Yale Center for Business and Environment. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University and has a Juris Doctor from Boston University School of Law. This announcement is another of many that reflect a practice of adding climate-change-focused individuals to positions within the Federal bureaucracy.

Additional Discussion:

Purpose
The Office of Public Participation (OPP) shall coordinate and provide assistance to members of the public to facilitate participation in Commission proceedings.

Function

• Engages with the public through direct outreach and education to facilitate greater understanding of Commission processes and solicit broader participation in matters before the Commission.
• Acts as a liaison to members of the public affected by and interested in Commission proceedings, by providing ongoing process information on individual proceedings and responding to requests for technical assistance.
• Coordinates with Commission program offices to improve, or, as appropriate, make recommendations to improve existing Commission processes in a manner responsive to public input, with the goal of ensuring processes are inclusive, fair, and easy to navigate.
• Provides advice and recommendations to the Commission with respect to intervenor funding.

In carrying out these functions, OPP will work closely with the Commission’s Office of External Affairs intergovernmental advisor, the Office of General Counsel including the Senior Counsel for Environmental Justice and Equity, and the Office of Energy Projects, amongst others. This collaboration will better ensure that the concerns of Tribal members, environmental justice communities, and other historically marginalized communities are fully and fairly considered in Commission proceedings.