Marc Spitzer was nominated by President George W. Bush to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and confirmed by the U.S. Senate for a term expiring June 30, 2011.

Commissioner Spitzer believes the FERC’s primary missions are to ensure that America’s ratepayers have safe, economic, and reliable supplies of electricity and natural gas; and transparent, robust and competitive wholesale energy markets. Commissioner Spitzer believes that successful regulation of FERC-jurisdictional industries requires a balancing of all competing interests to ensure just and reasonable rates.

The expansion of and improvements to the bulk transmission system and the nation’s natural gas pipeline system are high priorities for Commissioner Spitzer. He also believes those enhancements are essential to the dispatch of environmentally friendly resources as well as ensuring reliability and efficiency. Commission Spitzer also believes that the expanded enforcement authority provided by EPAct 2005 will help deter market manipulation and other anticompetitive behavior and will enhance FERC’s ability to appropriately penalize those who are culpable.

Commissioner Spitzer was elected in 2000 to the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) and in 2002 was elected ACC Chairman by his colleagues. He received recognition for his leadership of the Arizona Commission from 2003-2005.

At the FERC, Commissioner Spitzer is building on his record in Arizona on environmental issues. Demand response, energy efficiency, and access to the grid by alternative resources were major focuses of Commissioner Spitzer in retail rate cases and policy decisions before the Arizona Commission. Commissioner Spitzer believes that EPAct 2005 supports his commitment to those issues, which are germane to both Federal and State regulators.

As an attorney since 1982, Commissioner Spitzer represented taxpayers in proceedings involving the Internal Revenue Service. He was first certified as a Specialist in tax law by the Arizona Bar in 1987.