DOJ’s Salazar accepts ERC post

Lawyer Jose Vicente B. Salazar, an undersecretary of the Department of Justice (DOJ) with an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering, accepted his appointment as chair of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

Asked to confirm Monday reports of his appointment, Salazar said, “I am grateful to the President for the trust and the confidence. The appointment to the ERC is an honor and privilege which I accept wholeheartedly and with much humility.”

He comes in at a time when the country needs to keep regulation at pace with technological innovations for the benefit of consumers.

Salazar said he is especially interested in the opportunity to use his training as an electrical engineer and as a lawyer in his post as ERC chair.

“The task of providing our countrymen with reliable energy supply at competitive rates is a major challenge. Our aspiration is to get all the stakeholders working together to achieve that goal,” Salazar said.

Salazar served as undersecretary at the DOJ since November 2007.

Salazar already had exposure to the energy sector during his stay at the DOJ. He was chair of the Department of Energy-DOJ Task Force on the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998 from 2007 to 2013.

During that same period, Salazar was also a board member of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corp. and the representative of the DOJ to the state firm’s Board Review Committee and Board Audit Committee.