Democrat plugs ‘hot FERC summer’, sings to ‘FERCalicious’ on House floor

In a bid to draw attention to legislation relating to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) invoked both Fergie and Megan Thee Stallion on Wednesday. 

“I rise to continue our celebration of ‘hot FERC summer’ ” Casten said during floor remarks. “As climate activist Fergie would certainly say, the FERC-alicious definition is to make our planet cooler.”

“Having a well air-conditioned home when it’s ‘hot, hot,’ that’s FERC-alicious, getting your electricity from the lowest cost reliable source — FERC-alicious — an electric transmission system that keeps everything from electric vehicles to steel mills running with zero-carbon electricity, FERC-alicious,” he added, referencing the song “Fergalicious.”

.@RepCasten: “I rise to continue our hot FERC summer. As climate activist Fergie would certainly say, the FERCalicious definition is to make our planet cooler.” pic.twitter.com/b9zMxiEUrr

— The Hill (@thehill) July 28, 2021

A spokesperson for the lawmakers said that the bill in question, called The Right to Timely Rehearings at FERC Act and introduced Wednesday, is aimed at speeding up the timeline for the agency to respond to requests for rehearing orders on its decisions. 

It follows a court decision last year that found that a commission practice of delaying such appeals was illegal. 

This is not the first time that Casten has invoked popular music to draw attention to FERC. Last week, he invoked “hot FERC summer” in a floor speech last week. 

The phrase “hot girl summer” was popularized by pop star Megan Thee Stallion. 

In his speech on Wednesday, Casten also called for a “fully staffed FERC.”

There’s a seat on the commission that President Biden can fill, though a commissioner whose term expired is currently occupying it. 

The agency is led by five commissioners, and no more than three of them can be from the same political party. Biden’s eventual nominee is expected to give Democrats a 3-2 majority.  

Casten also plans to introduce another FERC-related bill next week, which would say that electricity prices that don’t account for the price of greenhouse gas emissions are “unjust, unreasonable, or unduly preferential, or discriminatory.”

And he’s recently introduced a bill that would compel the agency to require grid operators to look for electricity transmission solutions across different regions.