Bernard McNamee

Bernard L. McNamee (born 1967) is a government official who served as Commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from 2018 to 2020. McNamee was confirmed to the position by the United States Senate on December 6, 2018. He previously served in various state and federal legal and policy positions and practiced energy law in the private sector.

Career
McNamee was a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Before joining FERC, McNamee served in the U.S. Department of Energy as executive director of the Office of Policy and deputy general counsel for energy policy. His career in public service includes key leadership positions under Attorneys General in Virginia and Texas and policy advisor roles for U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, Attorney General Ken Paxton, and a Governor of Virginia. McNamee is a partner at McGuireWoods LLP and a senior advisor at McGuireWoods Consulting LLC. McNamee has been a member of the Federalist Society since 1990.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
McNamee completed a term as a commissioner on FERC in 2020, a position for which he was nominated by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate in 2018. During his time on the Commission, McNamee was recognized as a leader on a number of important energy issues and participated in more than 1,700 published orders on issues related to wholesale electricity markets, natural gas pipelines, liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities, oil pipeline rates, hydro facilities, reliability standards, and ratemaking. He also testified before Congress and was invited to speak before energy organizations throughout the country. McNamee assists clients with high-stakes and complex issues involving the Federal Power Act (FPA), Natural Gas Act (NGA), Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), Interstate Commerce Act (ICA), and Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

McGuireWoods
Former FERC Commissioner Bernard L. McNamee is a partner at McGuireWoods and a senior advisor at McGuireWoods Consulting. McNamee provides clients legal, policy and legislative guidance on a wide range of energy and environmental issues.

His practice focuses on strategic planning and policy development, legislation, and rulemakings, including issues involving Congress, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), as well as regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs).

Prior to federal service, McNamee was a partner in McGuireWoods’ Regulatory & Compliance Department. He assisted electric and natural gas utilities in rate cases and in obtaining approvals to build generating facilities and transmission lines, as well as the development of renewable portfolio standards (RPS) and integrated resource planning (IRP).