James Danly

James Danly was confirmed as US Deputy Secretary of Energy in June 2025. He issued a formal statement in April 2026 commending FERC's announcement that it would act by end of June on Docket RM26-4-000, the large-load interconnection rulemaking that will determine how data centres above 20 MW connect to the US interstate transmission grid. The statement signalled DOE alignment with FERC's approach, despite FERC having moved roughly two months past the DOE's preferred 30 April deadline.

Danly previously served as a FERC Commissioner from 2019 to 2023 — nominated by President Trump in his first term — and as FERC General Counsel before that. His FERC tenure included dissents on grid interconnection policy and strong views on the proper scope of FERC authority over behind-the-meter generation. His experience as a former regulator gives him direct institutional knowledge of the proceedings he is now shaping from the executive side: he understands the contested legal questions around bypass of interconnection studies and cost-allocation for transmission upgrades from both sides of the regulator-executive divide.

Danly's prior FERC role makes him arguably the most technically informed official in the DOE's engagement with RM26-4-000. His dissents on interconnection policy at FERC suggest he may favour approaches that limit cost-shifting from large loads to existing ratepayers — a position that will matter for how DOE engages with whatever FERC issues in June 2026.