President Donald Trump has selected a new chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

The President selected David Rosner, a Democrat, to lead the independent regulatory authority, following the departure of Republican Mark Christie.

Rosner had been appointed a commissioner at FERC back in June 2024, and assumed the position of chair on August 13.

Reflecting on the appointment, Rosner stated: “I am honored to serve as Chairman and excited to continue working with my colleagues on the Commission and FERC’s extraordinary staff to enable reliable, affordable, and abundant energy for all Americans. Energy lights our homes, powers our businesses, and we need it more than ever to grow the innovative industries of the future.”

Rosner has nearly 20 years of experience in the energy sector. Before becoming a commissioner, he worked as an energy industry analyst at FERC, where he oversaw initiatives on electric transmission regulations, energy storage, offshore wind integration, fuel security, and coordination between natural gas and electric systems.

FERC is composed of up to five commissioners directly appointed by the US President. The commissioners serve five-year staggered terms. The agency acts as the regulatory authority for all interstate transmission, as well as the wholesale electricity and natural gas markets.

At present, FERC only has three sitting commissioners - Rosner, Republican Lindsay See, and Democrat Judy Chang - with two Republican nominees currently awaiting Senate approval, which would provide the Republicans a 3-2 majority at the Commission.

The posting is likely to be an interim position, with President Trump nominating Laura Swett, who currently serves as energy litigation counsel at the law firm Vinson & Elkins, as Christie’s replacement. Trump has also nominated David LaCerte, a senior advisor at the White House, to fill the other position.

FERC plays a significant role within the data center and power sectors. Most notable has been its ruling on colocation agreements between large loads, such as data centers and power generation assets.

In February, the Commission launched a review of Co-location agreements between AI-focused data centers and generation sites in PJM as a means to clarify guidelines for nearly 8.5GW of proposed projects that avoid the traditional interconnection process.

The review was launched in response to the Commission's rejection of an Interconnection Service Agreement (ISA) that would have increased power usage at an Amazon Web Services data center colocated next to the Talen Energy-operated Susquehanna nuclear plant in Pennsylvania.

The ISA was originally rejected last year and upheld in April.