“Beto O’Rourke (D) is seizing on Texans’ concerns over their energy grid following the devastating winter storm earlier this year in his bid to oust Gov. Greg Abbott (R),” The Hill reports.
“The O’Rourke campaign sees the grid as a solid wedge issue in the traditionally red state, and will emphasize what it characterizes as failures by Abbott to defend his constituents from deadly temperatures and soaring power bills.”
An interesting note from Bloomberg: Part of the funding for the bipartisan infrastructure deal came from selling off some oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which President Biden announced earlier today.
Politico: “The Biden administration is expected to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves in coordination with other nations in the coming days in a bid to tamp down the recent increase in gasoline prices.”
“California currently has the highest gas prices in the nation, an average of $4.70 a gallon of regular unleaded,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“President Biden asked the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday to consider whether ‘illegal conduct’ by large oil and gas companies is pushing up gasoline prices for American consumers, the latest effort by the administration to target concentration in the energy industry in a bid to bring down prices at the pump,” the New York Times reports.
“Gas prices in California reached an all-time high Monday as the average price of a regular gallon soared to $4.682,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that President Biden’s administration should tap into emergency petroleum reserves to lower rising gasoline prices as Americans go into the holiday season, Reuters reports.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said that she hopes gas prices will not reach $4 per gallon soon, adding that OPEC is “controlling the agenda,” The Hill reports.
Said Granholm: “Of course, every president is frustrated because they can’t control the price of gasoline because it’s a global market. You can call upon increased supply, which he has done and OPEC is unfortunately controlling the agenda with respect to oil prices. OPEC is a cartel, and it controls over 50 percent of the supply of gasoline.”
“House Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) dropped a political bomb Thursday at the end of a hearing with big-name fossil fuel executives: She’s ready to subpoena them for records of their messaging about climate change,” Politico reports.
Said Maloney: “I have tried very hard to obtain this information voluntarily, but the oil companies employ the same tactics they used for decades on climate policy: delay and obstruction. Well, that ends today.”
Emily Atkin has more on the subpoenas.
Washington Post: “White House officials are still looking at whether they can preserve the clean energy program by providing a way for coal and natural gas plants to keep operating for longer… Calls continued into the weekend between White House aides and climate experts, according to one of these individuals, who said it remains unclear if Manchin even supports some of the newer ideas that the administration has floated.”
“The most powerful part of President Biden’s climate agenda — a program to rapidly replace the nation’s coal- and gas-fired power plants with wind, solar and nuclear energy — will likely be dropped from the massive budget bill pending in Congress,” the New York Times reports.
“Sen. Joe Manchin, the Democrat from coal-rich West Virginia whose vote is crucial to passage of the bill, has told the White House that he strongly opposes the clean electricity program, according to three of those people. As a result, White House staffers are now rewriting the legislation without that climate provision, and are trying to cobble together a mix of other policies that could also cut emissions.”
Wall Street Journal: “While Mr. Manchin, as a critical centrist in the 50-50 Senate and the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, holds sway over the package and its energy components, other Democrats in both chambers have demanded that it include major climate provisions.”
“The natural gas shortage that drove prices to records in Europe has exposed Russia’s rising leverage over global energy markets, with Moscow now playing a key role in everything from OPEC negotiations to coal exports to China,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Financial Times: Putin’s gas war with Europe is far from over.
“The Biden administration announced on Wednesday a plan to develop large-scale wind farms along nearly the entire coastline of the United States, the first long-term strategy from the government to produce electricity from offshore turbines,” the New York Times reports.
“The announcement came months after the Biden administration approved the nation’s first commercial offshore wind farm off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts and began reviewing a dozen other potential offshore wind projects along the East Coast. On the West Coast, the administration has approved opening up two areas off the shores of Central and Northern California for commercial wind power development.”
“Taken together, the actions represent the most forceful push ever by federal government to promote offshore wind development.”
“West Texas Intermediate crude closed above $80 a barrel for the first time since late 2014 as a growing power crisis from Europe to Asia boosts demand for oil ahead of winter,” Bloomberg reports.
“The Kremlin’s ambassador to the EU has called on Europe to mend ties with Moscow in order to avoid future gas shortages, but insisted that Russia had nothing to do with the recent jump in prices,” the Financial Times reports.
Wall Street Journal: “Crude oil has risen 64% this year to a seven-year high. Natural-gas prices have roughly doubled over the past six months to a seven-year high. Heating oil has risen 68% this year. Prices at the pump are up nearly a dollar over the past 12 months to a national average just over $3 a gallon. Coal prices are at records.”
“Higher energy prices could push up inflation in coming months, damp consumer spending on other products and services, and ultimately slow the U.S. recovery, economists say.”
Financial Times: “If you live in continental Europe or the UK the natural gas that heats your home this October is costing at least five times more than it did a year ago.”
“India stands on the brink of widespread power shortages as most of the country’s coal-fired plants have enough fuel for only a few more days,” Nikkei Asia reports.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports China “ordered its banks to ramp up funding to coal and energy companies, another step in its efforts to ease a power crunch and ensure supplies this winter.”
Financial Times: “China has started unloading a small number of Australian coal shipments despite an unofficial import ban, analysts said, in a move underscoring the intensity of the power crunch facing the world’s second-largest economy.”
“Exxon Mobil has been lobbying against pieces of a sprawling Democratic budget bill aimed at boosting working class families and fighting climate change,” CNBC reports.
“The fossil fuel giant has spent $275,000 over the past week on Facebook ads that include spots targeting tax hikes Democrats have included in the bill, which has a $3.5 trillion price tag at the moment.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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