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(In Sept. 17 story, corrects paragraph 7 to show thatWellinghoff is from Nevada, not New Mexico)
By Ros Krasny
WASHINGTON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Republicans and someDemocrats criticized Ron Binz in a hearing on Tuesday on hisnomination to lead a key U.S. energy regulatory agency as beingnon mainstream because his views on the nation's energy futuresupport renewable sources like wind over coal and natural gas.
Chairman of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission from2007 to 2011 and currently a regulatory consultant, Binz wasnominated by President Barack Obama in July to lead the FederalEnergy Regulatory Commission.
His nomination was considered by the Senate Committee onEnergy and Natural Resources Committee in an often contentiousthree-hour hearing. No date has been set for a vote.
Some conservative and free-market groups have opposed Binz,citing comments that, among other things, natural gas is a "deadend" energy source, and saying Binz would orchestrate a push forrenewable energy sources like wind over coal and natural gas.
A bipartisan group of 12 former FERC commissioners are amongthose who have spoken in favor of Binz.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the committee's ranking Republican,ended the hearing by saying that she "reluctantly" could notsupport the nomination. The Alaskan said she was "not convinced"that Binz's views were compatible with FERC's mission.
Binz would replace Jon Wellinghoff, a Nevada attorney whoremains with FERC pending the confirmation of a successor. IfWellinghoff were to leave, the normally five-member commissionwould be left in a 2-2 tie between Democrats and Republicans.
In the hearing, Oregon's Ron Wyden, the Democratic committeechair, repeatedly reminded his colleagues of the limits ofFERC's policy-setting mandate.
FERC, which has about 1,500 employees, regulates elements ofthe U.S. natural gas, electricity, oil and hydropowerindustries, including the reliability of the electricity gridand approval of liquefied natural gas export terminals.
"FERC has no authority to regulate coal," said Wyden.
Binz termed himself a "pragmatic problem solver" who would"work across regional, philosophical and party lines to makeregulatory decisions that work best for our nation's energy consumers and market participants."
FERC's role should be to help build a energy infrastructurein the United States that all fuels can access, Binz said,adding, "FERC is fuel neutral."
"FERC will not have a direct role in encouraging anyparticular resource," he said. "I think FERC's role is to ensurethat whatever energy fuel future this country finds itself in,we have prepared the infrastructure for it ... it's not topromote any particular resource."
Senator John Barrasso, a Republican from Wyoming, saidcomments by Binz in March that the use of natural gas could"dead end" by 2035 because of the need to reduce carbonemissions "were troubling and far outside the mainstream."
"You would be responsible for things that happen well beyond2035," Barrasso told Binz.
Binz said he was "fully supportive" of developing thenation's gas reserves, added that FERC was not responsible forclimate policy and that he had not spoken with the White Houseabout Obama's climate change plan, which was laid out in June.
His private views on "what the U.S. energy future could looklike won't affect decisions that need to be made now," Binzsaid.
Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat from the major coal state ofWest Virginia, said the Obama administration policies arehostile to coal and are taking a toll on his state's economy.
"They're just beating the living daylights out of littleWest Virginia."
Manchin quizzed Binz about the closure of a number ofcoal-fired power plants in Colorado while Binz was the topregulator there.
Binz's time at the Colorado commission was marked by battleswith Republican state legislators and mining interests when thecommission encouraged the state's largest utility, Xcel,to switch to natural gas from coal to power its plants. At leastthree coal-fired plants have closed in the state since 2009.
Binz responded that he also approved Colorado's largest coalplant. "I would like to see a path forward for coal," he said."I'm very sympathetic to what you have been saying."
One element of FERC's activities barely touched on duringthe hearing was the series of high-profile investigations intoWall Street banks' electricity market trading.
FERC has increased the number of staff in its Office ofEnforcement to about 200 from about 20 a decade ago, andundertaken major investigations of power market manipulation.
In 2013, the commission has levied $435 million in civilpenalties against Barclays Bank and $285 millionagainst JPMorgan Chase & Co. among others. (Reporting by Ros Krasny; editing by Marguerita Choy)
