View all text of Subchapter IV [§ 7171 - § 7178]
§ 7171. Appointment and administration
(a) Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; establishment
(b) Composition; term of office; conflict of interest; expiration of terms
(1) The Commission shall be composed of five members appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. One of the members shall be designated by the President as Chairman. Members shall hold office for a term of 5 years and may be removed by the President only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. Not more than three members of the Commission shall be members of the same political party. Any Commissioner appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of such term. A Commissioner may continue to serve after the expiration of his term until his successor is appointed and has been confirmed and taken the oath of Office, except that such Commissioner shall not serve beyond the end of the session of the Congress in which such term expires. Members of the Commission shall not engage in any other business, vocation, or employment while serving on the Commission.
(2) Notwithstanding the third sentence of paragraph (1), the terms of members first taking office after April 11, 1990, shall expire as follows:
(A) In the case of members appointed to succeed members whose terms expire in 1991, one such member’s term shall expire on June 30, 1994, and one such member’s term shall expire on June 30, 1995, as designated by the President at the time of appointment.
(B) In the case of members appointed to succeed members whose terms expire in 1992, one such member’s term shall expire on June 30, 1996, and one such member’s term shall expire on June 30, 1997, as designated by the President at the time of appointment.
(C) In the case of the member appointed to succeed the member whose term expires in 1993, such member’s term shall expire on June 30, 1998.
(c) Duties and responsibilities of Chairman
(d) Supervision and direction of members, employees, or other personnel of Commission
(e) Designation of Acting Chairman; quorum; seal
(f) Rules
(g) Powers of Commission
(h) Principal office of Commission
(i) Commission deemed agency; attorney for Commission
(j) Annual authorization and appropriation request
(k) Addressing insufficient compensation of employees and other personnel of the Commission
(1) In general
(2) Certification requirementsA certification issued under paragraph (1) shall—
(A) apply with respect to a category of employees or other personnel responsible for conducting work of a scientific, technological, engineering, or mathematical nature;
(B) specify a maximum amount of reasonable compensation for the category of employees or other personnel;
(C) be valid for a 5-year period beginning on the date on which the certification is issued;
(D) be no broader than necessary to achieve the objective of retaining or attracting employees and other personnel to allow the Commission to carry out the functions of the Commission in a timely, efficient, and effective manner; and
(E) include an explanation for why the other approaches available to the Chairman for retaining and attracting employees and other personnel are inadequate.
(3) Renewal
(A) In general
(B) Requirement
(4) New hires
(A) In general
(B) Compensation of new hires on renewal
(5) Retention of level of fixed compensation
(6) Consultation required
(7) Experts and consultants
(A) In generalSubject to subparagraph (B), the Chairman may—
(i) obtain the services of experts and consultants in accordance with section 3109 of title 5;
(ii) compensate those experts and consultants for each day (including travel time) at rates not in excess of the rate of pay for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of that title; and
(iii) pay to the experts and consultants serving away from the homes or regular places of business of the experts and consultants travel expenses and per diem in lieu of subsistence at rates authorized by sections 5702 and 5703 of that title for persons in Government service employed intermittently.
(B) LimitationsThe Chairman shall—
(i) to the maximum extent practicable, limit the use of experts and consultants pursuant to subparagraph (A); and
(ii) ensure that the employment contract of each expert and consultant employed pursuant to subparagraph (A) is subject to renewal not less frequently than annually.
(Pub. L. 95–91, title IV, § 401, Aug. 4, 1977, 91 Stat. 582; Pub. L. 101–271, § 2(a), (b), Apr. 11, 1990, 104 Stat. 135; Pub. L. 116–260, div. Z, title XI, § 11004(a), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2612.)