According to text messages and emails obtained by the Institute for Energy Research (IER) and shared with Fox News Digital, Allison Clements, a Democratic commissioner on the five-member Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), agreed to attend the Jan. 10 funder event despite an Energy Foundation official suggesting her presence might be “inappropriate.”
“Not sure if this is an improper question to ask, but would you be interested/willing/available to chat with funder group on Ferc 2022 priorities?” Energy Foundation fossil fuels program director Meredith Wingate asked Clements in a text message in December.
Wingate then stated that if Clements is unable to attend the event on January 10, the committee will consider postponing it.
One week prior to the event on Jan. 3, Energy Foundation senior program associate Sandy Carter emailed FERC staff a schedule of the event which included a “funders only” portion and a briefing led by Clements and a question and answer session afterwards.
“I thought your comments were very interesting, and helpful in focusing our group on ways that we can support successful advocacy at FERC,” Wingate emailed Clements two days after the event, thanking her for her attendance.
While the content of Clements’ briefing remains unclear, IER and ethics experts said her presence at a meeting of apparent Energy Foundation donors raised ethics questions.
“Meeting regularly with far left organizations she used to work for creates a troubling impression,” IER President Tom Pyle told Fox News Digital. “Briefing the funders of these groups on the ‘FERC opportunity’ is inescapably improper.”
“At the very least, Commissioner Clements should recuse herself from voting on matters of interest to the Energy Foundation,” he continued. “If she was a Republican commissioner who was this cozy with industry representatives, the left would be calling for her resignation.”
