Watchdog group says Energy Department official may have violated ethics obligations
- May 29, 2021
The official is a former member of an energy trade association
Adam Shaw, Fox News
A top Energy Department official is facing accusations of a potential conflict of interest, after a watchdog group said she had suggested a pattern of advancing the interests of an energy association of which she is a former CEO.
Kelly Speakes-Backman, who serves as acting Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, is a former CEO of the Energy Storage Association.
Protect the Public’s Trust, a watchdog that identifies potential conflicts of interest, has written to the Energy Department’s general counsel pointing to an April 16 panel on energy storage technology, in which it says Speakes-Backman “unnecessarily made multiple mentions of her former employer and implied her involvement in a major program initiative that would likely financially benefit her former employer and its members.”