8-10-26

Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Monday August 10, 2026

Asterisk (*) denotes news stories that may be inaccessible because portions are behind a paywall

 

Good morning! Here are today’s Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Oil rose Monday, as traders continue to assess mixed signals from the U.S. and Iran amid worries that a deal between both countries to open the Strait of Hormuz may not be anytime soon.

West Texas Intermediate futures for September advanced 0.83% to $78.83 per barrel.

Futures for international benchmark Brent crude for October delivery gained 1.04% to $84.42 a barrel. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Tehran is not currently in direct talks with the U.S. to end the war with Iran and open the Strait of Hormuz, while Washington earlier asserted that a deal is near.

In addition, Iran has asked the U.S. for compensation as a condition to reopen the crucial waterway, according to a report by media outlet Independent. The Strait of Hormuz will remain shut until the U.S. meets six conditions, including ending the war and aggression against Iran and its allies, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, the head of Iran’s supreme national security council, reportedly said.

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Top Stories

 

The Independent (UK) – August 9, 2026

Trump claims he’s ‘low-keying it’ with Iran after report he could walk away without nuclear deal

Donald Trump is taking a wait-and-see approach to Iran as negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and permanently end the war appear to have once again stalled following reports that the president is reportedly considering walking away from the conflict without securing a nuclear deal. “We are low keying it,” Trump told Axios on Sunday, claiming the U.S. strategy will eventually “work out.” “We are only semi-negotiating with them,” he added. “We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money.”

The apparent chill from the U.S. comes despite the president’s repeated insistence a deal is near and Iran is desperate for an off-ramp. In private, the reverse may be true; the president has reportedly floated the possibility of declaring victory even without a deal regarding his top goal to shut down Iran’s nuclear program — so long as the Strait of Hormuz is reopened, according to The Wall Street Journal.

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The Wall Street Journal – August 9, 2026

Data-Center Backlash Leads to a New Land Rush in the Texas Oil Patch*

Energy companies in the country’s largest oil field have a plan to turn shrub-covered dirt into gold. It has nothing to do with oil—and everything to do with the data-center boom. Firms including Texas Pacific Land  and LandBridge and EagleRock sit on land empires nestled in the Permian Basin, which spans West Texas and New Mexico. Their customers are oil-and-gas producers that pay for the right to build roads, drill wells and dump toxic water that is produced alongside the oil they bring to the surface. Now, these landowners want a piece of the AI action. The companies’ ambition is to lease land to data centers and sell them everything from water to construction materials. They are betting that developers facing community pushback from Maine to Arizona will be drawn to the Permian’s abundant land, cheap energy and business friendly climate.

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Texas Monthly – August 7, 2026

Ken Paxton’s Far-Right Billionaire Backer Has Returned*

Tim Dunn has been characteristically generous this election season. Since January 2025, the West Texas oil tycoon and far-right megadonor has doled out nearly $11.5 million as part of his ongoing quest to reshape national politics, cutting massive checks to a slate of right-wing U.S. Senate candidates—save for one notable exception. In the sixteen months since he announced his challenge to incumbent U.S. Senator John Cornyn, Ken Paxton does not appear to have received a single dollar in direct support from Dunn, suggesting a conspicuous and so far unexplained break with the man who largely bankrolled his political life in Texas.

Now Dunn is finally getting involved—albeit indirectly. On July 31, campaign-finance records show, one of the billionaire’s political action committees, Jefferson Rising, spent $110,000 for text messages opposing Paxton’s opponent in the race, Democratic state Representative James Talarico. It’s unclear what the messages, which were sent Monday, contained or whom they targeted.  The timing of Dunn’s foray into the race is notable. With nearly three months until the November midterms, most polls show the Senate race as dead even or favoring Talarico. Over the past few weeks, Paxton has been at the center of a particularly brutal news cycle.

He has faced new scrutiny of his expanding real estate portfolio, video footage of him vacationing with his girlfriend in Europe amid his ongoing divorce from state Senator Angela Paxton, and allegations that he illegally voted. (This week, it was reported that Talarico may have similarly broken election laws.) At the same time, Paxton is getting walloped in fundraising and spending. From the beginning of the year through July 15, his campaign raised about $17 million compared to Talarico’s $72 million, according to The Texas Tribune. And while pro-Talarico groups have continued to spend big on advertising, organizations backing Paxton have been relatively quiet since late May, when he secured the GOP nomination.

 

Texas Tribune – August 8, 2026

Trump calls Texas’ data center opposition a “mistake”

President Donald Trump this week criticized Texas for being anti-data centers, just days after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott paused industry-wide approvals until the companies provide the state with more information on things like power and water use. “I saw Texas the other day sort of is against data centers,” Trump said in a nearly hourlong sit-down interview with Punchbowl News released Friday. “I think it’s a mistake. And I’m not taking positions, I just think it’s a mistake, because there are other communities that want it. When a community wants it, it means a lot of money is going to come into that community.”

Abbott’s spokesperson in a statement Friday defended the policy move as necessary because less than 10% of data centers responded to the state’s requests for them to report their power and water usage. “Many are unaware that [the Electric Reliability Council of Texas] is tracking a more than 500% increase in peak electricity demand. This unprecedented growth could endanger the reliability and stability of the Texas electric grid,” Andrew Mahaleris said. “The Governor’s pause requires data centers to provide [Public Utility Commission of Texas] and ERCOT with the required information for them to make fully informed decisions. Simply put, Texans must come first.”

Austin American-Statesman – August 8, 2026

Tesla eyes tax breaks for $10.1 billion solar manufacturing plant in Fort Bend County*

Tesla Inc. is eyeing another massive, multibillion-dollar investment in Texas — this time a proposed $10.1 billion solar cell manufacturing facility in Fort Bend County — while seeking tax breaks to help bring the project to the state. It’s the latest example of Elon Musk’s companies proposing major new investments in Texas while signaling they could take the projects elsewhere without tax giveaways. In a new filing with the Texas Comptroller’s Office, the Austin company says the facility west of Houston would manufacture components used to convert sunlight into electricity, with a focus on products for utility and commercial installations. The company said it plans to bring the plant online by early 2029.

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The Hill – August 8, 2026

China could control the future of energy if America doesn’t act fast: Scott Tinker

The price of oil has been yo-yo-ing dramatically since the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran in early 2026 and Iran’s subsequent military control of the Strait of Hormuz. Rather than causing disparate groups to come together to recognize the importance of all forms of energy, this has resulted in some pushing harder for oil and gas and others pressing harder for solar, wind and batteries.  This is a false dichotomy. Both are needed. A similar situation exists with China — conceptually the Strait of Beijing — which dominates the global refining of critical minerals and related supply chains needed to produce the world’s solar panels. It also manufactures a large share of lithium-ion batteries. The reality is that aggregate U.S. shale production is plateauing — and what follows this “transition” from oil and gas production growth matters.

The shale revolution was one of the greatest technological achievements in American energy history. Through innovation in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, the U.S. reversed a decades long production decline and now leads the world in oil and gas production. Affordable shale oil and gas helped pull the U.S. out of the 2009 global recession, improved its geopolitical position, and even lowered carbon emissions as natural gas displaced coal in electricity generation. But geology has the final word. Every shale basin matures and production eventually slows. To extend the life of shale will require bipartisan policy and regulatory reforms, not uninformed, political sound bites. Investment in advanced drilling technologies, digital optimization and enhanced recovery techniques can help.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. and Plains GP Holdings on Friday reported second-quarter 2026 results and provided the following highlights — see the press release

VAALCO Energy, Inc. on Friday reported operational and financial results for the second quarter 2026 — see the press release

Kimbell Royalty Partners, LP on Friday announced financial and operating results for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 — see the press release

Marathon Petroleum reported second-quarter net income attributable to MPC of $5.1 billion, or $17.73 per diluted share — see the press release

Sabine Royalty Trust reported a strong quarter for a royalty vehicle, with Q2 net income of about US$20.8 million and basic earnings per unit of $1.43 — Simply Wall Street

Vistra Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results with Net Income of $305 million, including an unrealized loss from hedges expected to settle in future years of $472 million — the company says it achieved more than 30% growth in Ongoing Operations Adjusted EBITDA¹ to $1,767 million for the quarter compared to second quarter 2025 — see the press release

Duke Energy is committed to finding affordability solutions for customers amid rising demand — and opposition to the company’s $103 billion spending plan, company leaders said — Utility Dive

The Tennessee Valley Authority’s net income increased by $220 million in the first three quarters of this year, primarily due to higher operating revenue associated with an increase in power sales which was largely driven by the data processing, web hosting and related services sector, TVA’s CFO and executive vice president Tom Rice said — Utility Dive

Japanese energy company Eneos Holdings Inc. acquired TPC Group in a deal valuing the chemical firm at $1.28 billion including debt, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg News — the agreement, announced Friday without pricing details, will give the Japanese oil refiner ownership of TPC’s petrochemical operations in Houston as well as terminal operations in Port Neches, Texas, and Lake Charles, Louisiana. TPC engaged with multiple interested parties, according to the documents, which were signed by TPC leadership — Bloomberg*

In a win for opponents of Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 pipeline, the Michigan Supreme Court vacated a key permit last week for a proposed project that would replace a segment of the pipeline running underneath an environmentally-sensitive area of the Great Lakes, finding that a state commission did not examine the full scope of possible harm to the environment — Grist

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Oil & Gas Texas

 

Oil Price – August 7, 2026

US Oil Drillers Add Rigs

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States stayed the same overall this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, with the total rig count in the US staying at 588, up 49 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs rose by 3, reaching 454 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 43 above this same time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 3 to 124, which is 1 more than this time last year. Miscellaneous rigs stayed at 10.

The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production rebounded slightly during week ending July 31. US crude oil production averaged 13.804 million bpd during the reporting period, up from 13.796 million bpd last week and up 520,000 bpd from a year ago. Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing wells, fell by 4 in the week ending July 31, to 194 crews, after gaining 2 in the week prior. The number of active drilling rigs in the Permian Basin rose by 3 in the reporting period, hitting 263. This is 7 rigs above year-ago levels. The count in the Eagle Ford stayed the same at 49, which is 11 more than this same time last year.

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The Guardian – August 8, 2026

Greenland issues ‘strong warning’ as Trump-linked oil firm prepares to drill

Executives of Greenland Energy, a Texas company set up last year, have claimed that $1tn of crude may lie beneath the Jameson Land region. They announced plans to spend $60m drilling two wells to find out. Although Greenland stopped issuing new oil licences in 2021 on environmental grounds, a UK company called 80 Mile had secured exploration rights in Jameson Land. Greenland Energy’s corporate filings say it will take a majority stake in the project in exchange for funding the exploration, though it still needs government permission to proceed.

Greenland Energy has retained Phil McGraw, better known as Dr Phil, a prominent rightwing former chatshow host who served on Trump’s religious freedom commission, to make a documentary series that will “capture the mission of these modern-day wildcatters”. It has also appointed as a director a US navy veteran who is working on Golden Dome, the missile defence plan for which Trump says controlling Greenland is “vital”.

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Pipeline & Gas Journal – August 7, 2026

FERC approves $5-B Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion to boost Southeast gas supply

Federal regulators have given the green light to two major natural gas pipeline projects backed by Kinder Morgan, clearing the way for roughly $5.2 B in new energy infrastructure stretching from Mississippi to Georgia and South Carolina. Federal regulators have given the green light to two major natural gas pipeline projects backed by Kinder Morgan, clearing the way for roughly $5.2 billion in new energy infrastructure stretching from Mississippi to Georgia and South Carolina.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order on July 31 approving certificates of public convenience and necessity for the Mississippi Crossing Project (MSX), proposed by Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, and the South System Expansion 4 Project (SSE4), jointly proposed by Southern Natural Gas Company and Elba Express Company. All three companies are affiliated with Kinder Morgan, one of the largest energy infrastructure operators in North America.

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The Guardian – August 7, 2026

Trump faces calls for windfall tax on big oil’s profits from Iran war

Donald Trump’s statement that oil companies have made “too much money” from the Iran war has angered environmentalists, who say that his policies were designed to benefit those very corporations. If he really believes his own claims, he should impose a windfall profits tax, advocates say. “Trump’s declaration that big oil is ‘making too much money’ belies his accommodation and giveaways to the industry that have enabled its price-gouging – not to mention his disaster of a war of choice against Iran,” said Tyson Slocum, energy program director at the consumer advocacy non-profit Public Citizen. “But like a broken clock that’s correct twice a day, the president is right that oil companies are ‘making too much money’, which means Trump should endorse a windfall profits tax.”

ExxonMobil and Chevron on Friday both reported windfall profits for the second quarter of the year. Chevron said its earnings soared nearly 400% to $12bn, while Exxon’s profits more than doubled to $14.5bn. On Monday evening, Trump took aim at those gains, saying the companies “ought to give some of that back to the public”.

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Fortune – August 8, 2026

How Chevron became the AI darling of Big Oil

The massive Microsoft deal, dubbed Project Kilby, positions Chevron as the booming AI leader of Big Oil. Chevron considers Kilby—slated to come online in 2028 and ramp up through 2031—as the first of potentially several massive AI hyperscaler deals that will span West Texas and other gas-laden regions, including the Rockies and the Midwest, Jeff Gustavson, Chevron New Energies president, told Fortune. The project, fittingly, is an homage to Texas Instruments’ Jack Kilby, the inventor of the integrated circuit, or microchip, and the handheld calculator—early precursors of AI.

“After making the announcement about Kilby [in June], everyone wants to talk to us,” Gustavson said. “They now see us as a higher credibility player in this space that can actually put together everything you need on these projects, including, importantly, a customer.” When he says “everyone,” he means not just the hyperscalers, but also the gas turbine manufacturers—critically important amid long queues for equipment—and all the other necessary third-party suppliers and contractors. Chevron brings the scale, project management, land, natural gas resources, and more.

The 20-year power deal with Microsoft is for 2.67 gigawatts of natural gas-fired power—and room to grow with solar and batteries as well. The deal includes Chevron’s land and gas, additional land and water services from Texas Pacific Land, a joint venture partnership with Engine No. 1-backed power startup Joulent, at least seven large GE Vernova turbines, and several smaller Caterpillar Solar Titan 350 turbines. It doesn’t hurt that Chevron has a market cap of about $370 billion and just posted its most profitable quarter ever.

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Reuters – August 7, 2026

Cheniere Energy raises annual core profit outlook on strong LNG demand*

Cheniere Energy raised its forecast for annual ‌core profit on Thursday after beating quarterly expectations on robust LNG demand and high output, sending its shares up 3.5% in early afternoon trading. The largest U.S. LNG exporter expects adjusted core profit to range from $7.9 billion to $8.4 billion in 2026, compared with its prior ​projection of $7.25 billion to $7.75 billion. The Houston, Texas-based company’s adjusted core profit for the second quarter was $1.8 billion, ​beating analyst expectations of $1.72 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

“We don’t see these ⁠financial results as one-off going forward once LNG prices stabilize,” the company’s chief financial officer, Zach Davis, said ​during an earnings call. He said increased output would offset any declines in margins that have been elevated by ongoing disruptions ​in the Middle East. Cheniere said it exported 184 cargoes of LNG in the three months ended June 30, up 19.4% from a year earlier. The company expects increased exports next year as it will have a full year of production from its expansion ​projects, Davis said.

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

CNBC – August 7, 2026

Top Democrat proposes killing tax breaks for overseas oil production

Sen. Martin Heinrich will introduce a bill, shared exclusively with CNBC, to end tax breaks for U.S. oil and gas companies that operate overseas while the industry reaps massive profits as the war with Iran spikes oil prices. The bill comes days after President Donald Trump ripped major U.S. oil and gas producers for making “too much money” amid the conflict that has raised gasoline prices, and warned that companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron are going to have to “give some of that back to the public, and they better cut the retail price, the consumer price.” Trump has, at the same time, pushed U.S. oil and gas companies to invest in Venezuela after he ousted the country’s former president, Nicolás Maduro.

Heinrich, D-N.M., who is the top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said the bill would “help put American energy development on an even playing field with energy development that’s happening in the Middle East or anywhere else. Oil majors shouldn’t get a tax break for going overseas to produce energy, but that’s essentially what our current tax policy does,” he said. “At a time when oil majors are making billions in profits per quarter, they can afford to pay their fair share.”

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Financial Post – July 29, 2026

Calgary oil driller says its rigs are in demand — up 20% — as strong prices fuel activity

Calgary-based Precision Drilling Corp. posted higher second-quarter revenue as rising oil prices fuelled a spike in drilling activity in Canada, but its international division struggled with challenges during conflict in the Middle East. The oil services company’s revenue increased by 11 per cent to $452.8 million for the quarter that ended on June 30. In Canada, drilling activity increased 22 per cent compared to a year earlier with an average of 61 active rigs. The rise outpaced the 16 per cent average increase in the sector, the company said in a press release on Tuesday.

“Improving producer economics and expanded market access continue to support an attractive Canadian drilling environment, most notably in the condensate and heavy oil basins,” Precision’s chief executive Carey Ford said in a statement. “We expect activity during the second half of the year to remain above prior year levels.” The ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran led to increased demand for energy and higher oil prices during the spring quarter, amid concerns over attacks on infrastructure and transportation routes vital to the global oil market. The war has affected Precision’s business in two completely different ways. With North American oil averaging above US$90 a barrel in the second quarter, the company’s rigs were in demand in Canada and the United States, where it had 35 active rigs, up slightly from 33.

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The Guardian – August 4, 2026

BP boss urges Burnham to prioritise UK oil and gas even as firm exits North Sea

BP’s chief executive has urged Andy Burnham to make use of the UK’s oil and gas resources even as the oil company prepares to sell its North Sea business after 60 years in the ageing basin. In a conversation with the new prime minister, Meg O’Neill said the country should prioritise using energy produced in the UK, “where we generate jobs, we generate tax revenue, we generate all those additional positive impacts”.

BP’s endorsement of UK oil production came days after the 117-year-old company signalled a plan to exit the North Sea after six decades, as part of a wider plan to streamline its business. O’Neill said North Sea investments were “not competitive” within BP’s portfolio, while the company reported its highest quarterly profits since the first year of Russia’s war on Ukraine because of rising oil and gas prices caused by the Middle East crisis.

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Swaziland News – August 2, 2026

Turkiye and Iraq sign one-year oil pipeline deal amid global shift.

Ankara and Baghdad have signed a one-year agreement to keep crude flowing through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline that stretches from Iraq to Turkiye, just days after a top-level visit to Ankara by Iraq’s Prime Minister, Aljazeera reported. The deal – struck between Turkish state firm BOTAS and Iraq’s state oil companies SOMO and NOC on Saturday – comes days after the decades-old bilateral arrangement lapsed on Monday last week.
In a post on X, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said the agreement was signed following a “productive meeting” in Ankara with Iraqi Oil Minister Bassem Mohammed Khudair. “While our efforts continue toward a new long-term agreement for this pipeline … we have implemented this transit arrangement covering a daily capacity of 750,000 barrels,” he wrote.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

The New York Times – August 8, 2026

New Amazon Data Center Stokes Worry It Would Be the Most Polluting Power Plant in the U.S.*

Amazon is investing in a large-scale natural-gas-burning power plant as part of a huge data center in Texas, the company confirmed on Friday, a facility that could become the largest single source of climate pollution in the United States. Amazon and other tech giants are racing to build enough data centers to keep up with surging demand for artificial intelligence services, and to secure the electricity to power them. A company spokeswoman said in a statement that its planned data center, in Pecos County, would be “powered by new on-site generation that won’t raise electricity costs for Texas families.”

The new gas-burning plant, if built to specifications, would be permitted to release 33 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, regulatory records show, more planet-warming gases than any other power plant in the country. Amazon has been struggling to meet its promise that it would effectively eliminate its planet-warming emissions by 2040 as part of the Climate Pledge, a voluntary agreement among companies that Amazon co-founded several years ago. Emissions from the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas is the main driver of global warming, which is dangerously heating the planet. …

Amazon said it had recently acquired the Pecos County site, where a developer is building the gas-burning plant. The plant would use 35 natural-gas turbines to generate up to 7.65 gigawatts of power to feed to Amazon’s planned data center, according to permits for the project. The plant would not initially connect to the wider electricity grid, Amazon’s Ms. Callahan said. The site is in a remote part of West Texas near the state’s major natural-gas-producing regions. Ms. Callahan added that the company was also exploring the use of solar energy and battery storage at the data center, which she said would create thousands of new jobs. The tech company did not disclose how much it had paid.

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August 7, 2026

Abbott’s move against CPS is about subverting local control, not affordability: San Antonio Express-News*

Related: Abbott’s attack on Austin Energy is a costly path to ‘affordability’ — “If he wanted a more accountable Austin Energy — a goal we would applaud — he could champion transparency mandates for a utility that recently approved a $1 billion gas peaker plant with astonishing secrecy, not even disclosing how City Council members voted on the project” — Austin American-Statesman*

Related: CPS Energy’s not-for-profit business model benefits ratepayers and our community — “CPS Energy is reflective of the community we serve, led by an independent board of trustees, bound to make decisions in the best interests of our customers” — op-ed by Francine S. Romero of CPS Energy’s board of trustees in the San Antonio Express-News*

Related: Texas Audit Could Delay 49.8 GW of Data Center Load, Cost Projects Up to $15 Billion, BNEF Warns — “BNEF suggests the audit is politically tilted. ‘Abbott is facing reelection in November this year, and the pause is likely intended to take the controversial data center issue off the table until after the voters have their say,’” the report states — Power Magazine

Gov. Greg Abbott announced this week that he wants the Texas Legislature to end CPS Energy’s status as the sole seller of electricity in San Antonio. He did not offer specifics on how this would be implemented, or whether he intends to apply it to all municipally owned utilities in Texas, of which there are more than 70 serving more than 5 million customers. Our Editorial Board along with the Austin American-Statesman Editorial Board requested to speak with the governor. His office referred us to his campaign, which did not agree to an interview in time for publication.

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KXAN – August 6, 2026

Major data center company backs Abbott’s audit as Texas pauses new grid connections

 Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday that QTS Data Centers has committed to meet the state’s new standards for data center projects, marking one of the first major industry responses to the state’s new oversight requirements. QTS, which owns four operational data centers in Texas, made their announcement days after Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to conduct a comprehensive audit of pending data center projects before allowing any additional facilities to connect to the state’s electric grid. The governor has said the review is intended to protect residential ratepayers, ensure projects have adequate power and water resources, and verify developers can deliver on their proposals.

According to the governor’s office, QTS agreed to meet several requirements Texas is seeking for future developments, including using closed-loop cooling technology that minimizes water consumption after startup, providing dedicated power generation rather than relying solely on the ERCOT grid and ensuring projects do not increase electricity costs for residential customers.

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Utility Dive – August 7, 2026

Oncor weighs impact of Texas data center freeze on nearly 300-GW load pipeline

About 44 GW of large load projects slated for Oncor’s service territory qualified for ERCOT’s new “Batch Zero” interconnection process for large loads, company executives told analysts during a Thursday earnings call. But the timeline for that process is uncertain following an order by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that paused new data center interconnection approvals pending a state-wide audit.

ERCOT’s criteria for Batch Zero, which include new financial and technical requirements for loads with a peak demand of 75 MW or greater, narrowed immediate load growth projects for Oncor, a subsidiary of Sempra. The batch approach, Sempra Chairman and CEO Jeff Martin said, was intended to align the interconnection of large loads with the construction of new generation. The criteria for acceptance into the first Batch Zero was finalized in June.

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KUHF NPR – August 7, 2026

Will Gov. Abbott’s plan for Austin Energy lower prices? A Texas energy expert is wary

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced a plan earlier this week to disrupt what he labeled as “utility monopolies.” The governor said in a statement that doing so “will lower electricity costs by expanding consumer choice.” But one expert whose been watching the energy market for years says Austin Energy already has some of the lowest prices in the state’s electric grid.

Cyrus Reed is the legislative and conservation director at the Texas chapter of the Sierra Club, a nonprofit organization focused on environmental issues. He says, in the deregulated model of competitive markets, like in Corpus Christi, Houston or Dallas, prices are not typically lower than city-owned utilities, like Austin Energy. “Depending on the utility, the prices might be lower in the competitive market,” he said. “But in the case of Austin Energy, in part because of the investments made on energy savings programs and onsite solar, the average bills in Austin Energy are actually the lowest in ERCOT,” he said, referring to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the state’s grid.

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The Wall Street Journal – August 8, 2026

Cuba Is Low on Oil. Now, It’s Counting on Solar, With China’s Help.*

Cuba is running short of fuel, but not sunshine. As the Caribbean island’s energy crisis has deepened, Chinese-provided solar panels have popped up across the country, offering an unlikely bright spot for a power grid plagued by fuel shortages, crumbling infrastructure and near-daily blackouts. At least 41 midsize and 18 smaller-scale solar parks have been built over the past two years, according to RenewAtlas, a database that tracks solar developments and satellite imagery. The government said in 2024 that they plan to build 92 midsize parks by 2028. The solar push accelerated after a series of nationwide blackouts in 2024, in part because Cuba’s imports of crude oil from Venezuela collapsed, said Ricardo Torres Pérez, a Cuban economist at American University.

But in a cruel twist, Cubans are still spending much of their days without electricity despite the surge in new solar capacity. The island’s 10 million residents have suffered almost daily power outages as fuel supplies have dwindled, a crisis that worsened after the Trump administration blocked nearly all energy shipments to Havana in late January. The new solar parks could generate around 1,000 megawatts of capacity when operating at peak output, nearly five times what was previously installed and almost one-third of the country’s typical peak demand of about 3,200 megawatts. Solar now meets about 10% of the nation’s power needs, up from 3% at the beginning of last year, the government said.

 

Regulatory

 

San Antonio Express-News – August 9, 2026

Iran war should bring end to Jones Act and its drain on economy: Michael Bloomberg*

The Iran war has provided at least two clear economic lessons. It has exposed the steep costs of being reliant on fossil fuels, highlighting the need for countries to diversify their homegrown energy sources, including solar and wind power. And it has shown what U.S. commerce could look like freed from the Jones Act, one of the most counterproductive protectionist measures of the last century. The law, part of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, requires vessels carrying cargo between U.S. ports to be built, owned, flagged and predominantly crewed by Americans. To illustrate the problems this causes, consider this: A foreign-flagged ship coming from Asia can unload its goods at a West Coast port, but it cannot then pick up American-made goods and unload them at Honolulu — or any other U.S. city. The act costs Hawaiian families $1,800 a year, according to one study. Alaskans and Puerto Ricans get walloped, too.