"I view requests for a moratorium on energy projects to be short-sighted and impractical. Any step to slow the energy economy is a step in the wrong direction", Chatterjee said in the letter on Tuesday.
Access to reliable & affordable #energy is critical to the daily lives of millions of #Virginians. Read my response on why @MarkHerringVA's calls for an immediate moratorium on infrastructure is impractical & irresponsible. https://t.co/wDFgwEhWVk
— Neil Chatterjee (@FERChatterjee) May 12, 2020
Chatterjee said hindering the approval of new energy infrastructure projects could have long-term and lasting negative impacts.
The Chairman added that two major energy projects in Virginia, Mountain Valley Pipeline and Atlantic Coast Pipeline, had already received Commission approval and are therefore outside the scope of Mark Herring's request.
On 7 May, the state's Attorney General, on behalf of a coalition of US attorneys general, sent a letter to Chatterjee asking for a moratorium on approvals of all new and pending natural gas pipelines, liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities, and related fossil-fuel infrastructure projects until the end of the pandemic.
