Editing Federal Power Commission

{{Short description|US government body (1930–1977)}}
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| formed         = {{Start date|1930|06|23}}
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| dissolved      = October 1, 1977
| superseding    = [[Federal Energy Regulatory Commission|FERC]]
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| chief1_name    = [[Charles B. Curtis]]
| chief1_position= Chairman (''last'')
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The '''Federal Power Commission''' ('''FPC''') was an [[Independent agencies of the United States government|independent commission]] of the [[United States government]], originally organized on June 23, 1930, with five members nominated by the [[President of the United States|president]] and confirmed by the [[United States Senate|Senate]]. The FPC was originally created in 1920 by the [[Federal Power Act|Federal Water Power Act]], which provided for the licensing by the FPC of [[hydroelectric]] projects on the land or [[navigable]] water owned by the federal government. The FPC has since been replaced by the [[Federal Energy Regulatory Commission]].

The FPC also regulated interstate electric utilities and the [[natural gas]] industry.

In June 1939, President Roosevelt appointed [[Leland Olds]] to the FPC, who served as chairman from January 1940 until 1949. Under Olds’ leadership, the FPC successfully pressured electric utilities to extend power into neglected rural areas and to lower electricity rates to increase use. However his reappointment in 1949 [[Leland Olds hearing|failed in the Senate]] due to concerns about his suspected previous sympathy to [[Communist Party USA|communism]].

[[James G. Watt]] was another prominent FPC commissioner, who conducted prayer meetings prior to the FPC sessions.

== Office of Chairman ==
From its founding in 1920 until its first reform in 1930, the FPC did not have its own commissioners; rather, it was chaired [[ex officio]] by the [[United States Secretary of War|Secretaries of War]], [[United States Secretary of the Interior|Interior]], and [[United States Secretary of Agriculture|Agriculture]].<ref>{{cite journal| url=http://www.felj.org/elj/Energy%20Journals/Vol16_No2_1995_Salute.pdf| journal=Energy Law Journal| author=Staff| title=A Salute: 75 Years for the FPC and FERC| volume=16| issue=2| year=1995| page=293| access-date=2009-10-08| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726051510/http://www.felj.org/elj/Energy%20Journals/Vol16_No2_1995_Salute.pdf| archive-date=2011-07-26| url-status=dead}}</ref> The first "Chairman" in that sense was Woodrow Wilson's Secretary of War, [[Newton D. Baker]]. Before 1930, five Secretaries of War, five Secretaries of the Interior, and five Secretaries of Agriculture held title at the FPC.

Following the 1930 reforms, FPC had its own commissioners, with the following commissioners holding the title of Chairman of the Federal 
Power Commission:

==Chairmen==

Source:<ref>{{Cite web|title = Past FPC Chairmen|url=https://www.ferc.gov/about/commission-members/current-previous-chairmen}}</ref>
*[[George Otis Smith]] 	December 22, 1930 - July 18, 1933
*[[Frank R. McNinch]] July 19, 1933 - September 30, 1937
*[[Clyde L. Seavey]] September 30, 1937 - December 31, 1939
*[[Leland Olds]] January 1, 1940 - June 22, 1944
*[[Basil Manly (FPC)|Basil Manly]] September 21, 1944 - September 14, 1945
*[[Leland Olds]] December 14, 1945 - January 1, 1947
*[[Nelson Lee Smith]] January 1, 1947 - May 24, 1950
*[[Mon C. Wallgren]] May 24, 1950 - October 1, 1951
*[[Thomas C. Buchanan]] January 5, 1952 - May 15, 1953
*[[Jerome K. Kuykendall]] May 15, 1953 - August 31, 1961
*[[Joseph C. Swidler]] September 1, 1961 - December 30, 1965
*[[Lee C. White]] March 2, 1966 - July 31, 1969
*[[John N. Nassikas]] August 1, 1969  - June 22, 1975
*[[Richard L. Dunham]] October 20, 1975 -  August 9, 1977
*[[Charles B. Curtis]] August 10, 1977 - September 30, 1977 (through renaming to FERC)

==Commissioners==

Source:<ref>{{Cite web|title = Past FPC Commissioners|url=https://www.ferc.gov/about/commission-members/current-previous-chairmen}}</ref>
*[[James G. Watt]] November 11, 1975 - August 30, 1977
*[[Richard L. Dunham]] October 20, 1975 - August 9, 1977
*[[John H. Holloman]] September 3, 1975 - August 4, 1977
*[[Don S. Smith]] December 13, 1973 - June 30, 1979 
*[[William L. Springer]] June 14, 1973 - December 1, 1975
*[[Rush Moody Jr.]] November 19, 1971 - March 15, 1975
*[[Pinkney Walker]] May 26, 1971 - December 31, 1972
*[[John N. Nassikas]] August 1, 1969 - October 20, 1975
*[[Albert Buch Brooke Jr.]] October 16, 1968 - March 31, 1975
*[[John A. Carver Jr.]] September 13, 1966 - June 15, 1972
*[[Lee C. White]] March 2, 1966 - July 31, 1969
*[[Carl E. Bagge]] May 27, 1965 - December 31, 1970
*[[David S. Black]] August 30, 1963 - September 13, 1966
*[[Harold C. Woodward]] March 30, 1962 - August 4, 1964
*[[Charles R. Ross]] September 29, 1961 - September 25, 1968
*[[Lawrence J. O’Connor Jr.]] August 14, 1961 - August 30, 1971
*[[Joseph C. Swidler June 28,]] 1961 - December 30, 1965
*[[Howard Morgan (FPC)|Howard Morgan]] June 28, 1961 - June 22, 1963
*[[Paul A. Sweeney]] July 15, 1960 - April 15, 1961
*[[John B. Hussey]] June 23, 1958 - March 17, 1960
*[[Arthur Kline]] June 23, 1956 - August 13, 1961
*[[Wiliam R. Connole]] June 23, 1955 - June 22, 1958
*[[Fredrick Stueck]] July 9, 1954 - July 15, 1961
*[[Seaborn L. Digby]] August 17, 1953 - June 22, 1958
*[[Jerome K. Kuykendall]] May 15, 1953 - August 31, 1961
*[[Dale E. Doty]] May 22, 1952 - June 22, 1954
*[[Mon C. Wallgren]] November 2, 1949 - October 1, 1951
*[[Thomas C. Buchanan]] June 14, 1948 - May 15, 1953
*[[Richard Sachse]] November 1, 1945 - June 22, 1947
*[[Harrington Wimberly]] October 5, 1945 - June 22, 1958
*[[Nelson Lee Smith]] October 26, 1943 - June 22, 1956
*[[Leland Olds]] July 7, 1939 - June 22, 1944
*[[John W. Scott (FPC)|John W. Scott]] June 24, 1937 - June 15, 1945
*[[Clyde L. Seavey]] August 13, 1934 - August 5, 1943
*[[Basil Manly (FPC)|Basil Manly]] June 24, 1933 - October 1, 1945
*[[Herbert J. Drane]] June 16, 1933 - June 22, 1937
*[[Ralph B. Williamson]] December 31, 1930 - December 10, 1932
*[[Frank R. McNinch]] December 27, 1930 - June 22, 1934
*[[George Otis Smith]] December 22, 1930 - October 31, 1933
*[[Claude L. Draper]] December 22, 1930 - June 22, 1956
*[[Marcell Garsaud]] December 22, 1930 - June 22, 1932

== Relevant laws ==
*46 Stat. 797
*41 Stat. 1063
*16 [[United States Code]] 791-823, the Federal Water Power Act

== Dissolution ==
{{Main|Federal Energy Regulatory Commission}}
On October 1, 1977, the FPC was replaced by the [[Federal Energy Regulatory Commission]].<ref>42 U.S.C. § 7172.</ref>

== See also ==
* ''[[Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference v. Federal Power Commission]]''

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Woodrow Wilson}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Federal Power Commission| ]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1920]]
[[Category:Organizations disestablished in 1972]]