Dozens of Energy Regulators Applied for Industry Jobs in 2014

[marmar]

from In These Times:


Dozens of Energy Regulators Applied for Industry Jobs in 2014
Documents obtained by Greenwire show that FERC employees are actively and frequently seeking employment with the companies they regulate.

BY JUSTIN MIKULKA


Apparently, much like an Ivy League business or law degree, having FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) on your resume makes you a hot commodity on the job market, especially in the very industries—power utilities, oil and gas companies and natural gas exporters—that FERC regulates. And FERC appears to have no problem with you actively seeking employment with companies in these industries while still on the FERC payroll, as long as you inform FERC and recuse yourself from cases involving those companies.

In These Times previously described FERC’s relationship with industry as a “revolving door,” but based on information recently received by energy and environmental website Greenwire in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, perhaps revolving door isn’t the correct term. It is more like there is no door at all, and FERC is just a springboard to lucrative private-sector employment.

The documents Greenwire received included letters of recusal filed by FERC employees notifying their superiors that they were actively seeking work with corporations that FERC regulated. While the practice of notifying your boss that you are applying for jobs elsewhere might seem foreign to private sector employees, these letters are required at government agencies if there may be a conflict of interest.

According to the newly released documents, more than 70 of these letters were filed in 2014 (FERC employs approximately 1,300 people). Most of the names of the employees on the documents are redacted, but it is likely that some of the letters are from the same employee seeking multiple opportunities. In one letter, an ambitious employee disclosed seeking employment with eight companies regulated by FERC. ......................(more)

http://inthesetimes.com/article/17874/dozens-of-energy-regulators-applied-for-industry-jobs-in-2014

[Octafish]

1. What's wrong with this picture? I mean, Democracy?