Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Friday June 5, 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 prices rose on Friday, paring sharp losses from the previous session, after Hezbollah rejected a new Lebanon ceasefire proposal and Oman’s Mina al Fahal terminal suspended oil loadings following an explosion.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $93.06 a barrel, up 2 cents, or 0.02%, following a 3.1% loss on Thursday.
Brent crude futures rose 33 cents, or 0.35%, to $95.36 a barrel by 0408 GMT after settling down 2.84% in the previous session.
Both contracts are set to post their first weekly gain in three weeks, with WTI up more than 6%, after fighting flared up in the Middle East as U.S.-Iran war peace talks dragged on while traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world’s oil passes, remained limited.
Top Stories
BOE Report – June 4, 2026
Texas power demand growth nearly five times the broader US, report says
Electricity demand in Texas grew 9% in recent months, nearly five times the U.S. average, driven by the expansion of data centers and cryptominers in the Lone Star State, according to data released by Hitachi Energy on Thursday.
* The Texas power grid saw the largest jump in both power demand and the addition of new power supplies of any of the country’s grids in the six months ended in March 2026, the Hitachi Energy Grid Pulse report said.
* “Load growth over the last six months has been aggressive,” said Hitachi Energy Advisor Debashis Bose.
* Nationwide, about 28 gigawatts of new power-generating resources, primarily solar and battery storage, were added between October 2025 and March.
* Texas’ ERCOT grid and the Midwest U.S. Midcontinent Independent System Operator grid accounted for half of all of the power generation additions.
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Associated Press/Spectrum News – June 4, 2026
American Airlines temporarily suspends some of its summer routes due to steep jet fuel costs
American Airlines is temporarily suspending some of its routes this summer, as steep jet fuel costs continue to strain carriers’ budgets amid the war with Iran. In a statement, American said it had adjusted service for “select routes” in August and September — and that impacted travelers would be offered alternative arrangements or refunds. The Texas-based airline cited elevated fuel costs, and maintained that these changes were in line with wider industry trends.
American also said that it was not cutting any of its routes indefinitely and that it was proud to “offer an industry-leading network with more flights than any other U.S. airline.” Still, the summer suspensions could cause more headaches for travelers already facing fewer flight options and higher price tags across their budgets. Airlines around the world have canceled numerous flights or similarly trimmed schedules through the coming months — and many have are also hiking fees or cutting other perks in efforts to save money.
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KETK – June 4, 2026
SWEPCO awarded $200M to boost affordability, reliability for Texas customers
SWEPCO has received a $200 million grant to help boost affordability and reliability for its Texas customers. Texas Governor Greg Abbott released a statement announcing the $200 million grant from the Texas Energy Fund Outside ERCOT Grant Program. The funds will be used to upgrade approximately 700 miles of power equipment in Northeast Texas, ensuring electric reliability for more than 192,000 Texas consumers.
“Reliable electricity powers every part of Texans’ daily lives,” said Governor Abbott. “As our state grows, we will ensure families, businesses and communities have the reliable, affordable power they need. Through these investments to upgrade power line infrastructure, Texas will remain the energy capital of the world.”
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Mining – June 4, 2026
EnergyX, Wildcat Discovery Technologies team up to build ‘battery mecca’ in Texas
EnergyX and Wildcat Discovery Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of Holyvolt Group, announced Thursday they have entered into an agreement to advance a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode active material manufacturing facility in Hooks, Texas. The project represents more than $230 million investment, and if selected for DOE funding, federal support would accelerate construction, commissioning, and scale-up of one of the first meaningful domestic LFP cathode production facilities in the United States, EnergyX said in a news release.
The facility would be adjacent to EnergyX’s Project Lonestar lithium plant, which opened in March, and near the Red River Army Depot. EnergyX controls approximately 50,000 acres of lithium mining rights underneath the co-located cathode production facility and Lonestar lithium plant, located in the Smackover formation — a lithium-rich brine resource that stretches from Florida to Texas.
The Latest TERse Tips
The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is down 18 cents since last week to $4.24, marking the second straight week of decline — AAA
Persian Gulf Oil Tanker Traffic May Never Fully Recover — the warnings come from several unrelated sources as the war continues to drag on, with some recovery in traffic but nowhere near pre-February 28 levels. Meanwhile, Big Oil is warning that the looming supply shortage is about to hit global markets in weeks — “No matter what happens, the Iranians will control the Strait of Hormuz for the foreseeable future,” Amos Hochstein, senior national security and energy advisor to President Biden, told CNBC last week. “It doesn’t even matter what the deal says. Everybody in the region believes that” — Oil Price
Market analysts are worried about the ramifications of the continued depletion of the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve — “The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is at less than half of its authorized level at present, and drawdowns are continuing in coordination with international reserve holdings to partially offset the current situation with supply interruptions in the Middle East,” economist Ray Perryman told the Reporter-Telegram by email
Nearly 40 ships previously stranded in the Persian Gulf have exited through the Strait of Hormuz over the past three weeks as vessels quietly coordinate with the U.S. Navy, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence — some shipowners are submitting their transit plans to the Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping group in Bahrain, said Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of Lloyd’s List, in a briefing Thursday — CNBC
Enforcement of a Texas law that prohibits state and local government contracts with businesses, including municipal bond underwriters, that “boycott” the fossil fuel industry is back on after a federal appeals court stayed a lower court ruling that found the law to be unconstitutional — Bond Buyer*
CPS Energy announced its interim chief executive officer on Thursday as the utility company searches for a long-term replacement of CEO Rudy Garza — Frank Almaraz was named interim president and CEO, the utility said in a news release — KSAT
The Lower Colorado River Authority Board of Directors has formally selected Rudy D. Garza as the utility’s next general manager, effective July 20 — South Texas News
The Public Utility Commission of Texas enters the second Texas Energy Fund Completion Bonus Grant Program agreement — the grant agreement is with the Lower Colorado River Authority for Timmerman Unit 2, the 188-megawatt (MW) second unit of their Timmerman Power Plant in Caldwell County — see the press release
“Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy chose the Texas Department of Transportation to help develop these new rules through the Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Integration Pilot Program. Public and private organizations will work out how to safely add autonomous aircraft to existing flight patterns and connect San Antonio with Houston, Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth, as well as small communities in between” — editorial columnist Chris Tomlinson in the Houston Chronicle*
Talen Energy received the final approvals necessary to buy three U.S. gas-fired power plants, which is the latest in a long line of planned merger and acquisition activity across the U.S. power-generation landscape — Industrial Info
T1 Energy announced it has entered an agreement to acquire KORE Power, a battery energy storage system company, for $32 million of equity, cash and assumption of debt — the transaction is anticipated to close by the end of this month — Solar Power World
“Inside Trump’s secret plan for Cuba invasion with warship armada, 2,500 marines & special ops raid to bundle out Castro” — The Sun (US)
Video: Who will become the next chair of BP? — CNBC
The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a rule last week to formally rescind the climate-risk disclosure regulation adopted under prior SEC Chair Gary Gensler in 2024, though the final rule never went into effect — Utility Dive
Inside the AI Boom’s Arctic Outpost — Time
Oil & Gas Texas
S&P Global Platts – June 4, 2026
US gas storage stocks drop below 2025 levels after a bullish EIA report
The US Energy Information Administration reported June 4 a lower-than-expected weekly addition to natural gas storage inventories, reducing the surplus relative to the five-year average and sending stocks below 2025 levels. US natural gas inventories climbed by 95 billion cubic feet in the week ended May 29, the EIA said. The reported injection was 4 Bcf below the consensus estimate of 99 Bcf in the May 26 gas storage survey by Platts, part of S&P Global Energy.
It was also bullish compared with the five-year average injection of 101 Bcf and the year-ago addition of 119 Bcf in the corresponding week, according to EIA data. Gas inventories rose to 2.578 trillion cubic feet in the week ended May 29, the data showed. The storage surplus to the five-year average fell to 138 Bcf, or 6%, while stocks flipped to a 3-Bcf deficit to 2025 levels. The delta to year-ago levels has shifted from a 142-Bcf surplus April 17, EIA data showed. Injections were exceptionally high in the 2025 shoulder season, with seven consecutive triple-digit additions from late April to early June.
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Odessa American – June 3, 2026
Basin outstripping Saudi Arabia in energy significance: Bob Campbell
The global order of the energy industry is shifting and where the Permian Basin will fit in is an intriguing question. It will of course be very important, but in what relation to Russia, Saudi Arabia and the other members of OPEC and OPEC-Plus? How will Europe and Asia factor in with their massive and ever-increasing needs for power?
The infrastructure from war damage in Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain will eventually be repaired, but how long will it take and will the global order return to pre-war conditions or will it be altered? Waco economist Ray Perryman and Odessa oilman Kirk Edwards say big changes are taking place and the Basin is gaining prominence.
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KUT NPR – June 4, 2026
In 2022, Sarah Stogner ran an insurgent Republican primary campaign for a seat on the Railroad Commission of Texas. Despite its name, the commission is the powerful agency that regulates oil and gas in the state. Riding a wave of discontent over abandoned oil wells and groundwater contamination, Stogner surprised many when she forced incumbent Republican Commissioner Wayne Christian into a primary runoff. She said it was only then that her campaign hired political consultants.
“They told me: ‘OK, you need to be talking about the [border] wall. You need to be talking about abortion. You need be talking hot button topics,” Stogner remembered. “I said, ‘Absolutely not.'” Instead, she kept hammering Christian on toxic air emissions, oilfield earthquakes and other issues related to oil and gas. She lost the primary runoff by 30 percentage points.
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Yardbarker – June 2, 2026
Is Texas Tech Oil Money Spoiling Sports?
Texas Tech’s rise in the NIL era has sparked a question many college sports fans are asking: At what point does financial power stop being an advantage and start becoming a problem? The Red Raiders have become one of the biggest spenders in college athletics, fueled by wealthy donors and deep ties to the Texas oil industry. There is nothing illegal about it. Texas Tech is simply playing by the rules that currently exist. But that does not mean the system is healthy.
College sports once rewarded strong coaching, player development and recruiting relationships. Those factors still matter, but NIL has dramatically shifted the balance. Increasingly, the schools with the deepest pockets can outbid competitors for talent. When a handful of programs can essentially write blank checks, competitive balance suffers.
Texas Tech has become the poster child for this new reality. The school’s resources have allowed it to make headlines across multiple sports, landing transfers and recruits that might have been out of reach just a few years ago. Fans of rival programs look at the situation and wonder whether championships are being won on the field or purchased in boardrooms.
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May 29, 2026
Fracking Saved U.S. Natural Gas Consumers Between $3 and $4 Trillion: Institute for Energy Research
University of California, Berkeley’s Haas Energy Institute released a study detailing how shale gas technologies have reduced energy costs for American consumers. The study found that horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing of shale gas formations saved U.S. consumers between $3.1 and $4.3 trillion from 2007 to 2025, as consumption increased by more than 50% and U.S. costs were “delinked” from global LNG costs. U.S. gas prices averaged $9 lower per Mcf than in Europe and $11 lower per Mcf than in Japan from 2007 to 2025.
Haas assumed the United States would have been importing LNG to supplement its natural gas production absent the shale gas revolution, a valid concern in the early 2000’s when LNG import facilities were being permitted in the United States. While some may quarrel with the study’s methodology, the positive impact of U.S. domestic natural gas production because of modern technology is not in dispute, including the U.S. position leading the world in both production and exports.
Oil & Gas National & International
The New York Times – June 4, 2026
The U.S.-Qatar Domination of Gas Left the World Dangerously Exposed*
Years before the war in the Persian Gulf, executives in boardrooms across Japan were discussing a development they feared posed a growing risk to Asia’s energy supplies. The global trade in liquefied natural gas, the supercooled fuel that underpins power generation across Asia, was hardening into a duopoly. Just two nations — the United States and Qatar — were poised to account for the vast majority of supply growth by 2030. Anxiety was high in Japan because it’s the largest L.N.G. importer behind China. The concern was that a market dominated by two powerful suppliers could disadvantage buyers and leave Japan vulnerable should either pillar falter. The United States was viewed as politically unpredictable, especially after the Biden administration paused permits for new export facilities in 2024.
And Qatar sat in one of the world’s most volatile regions. In February, those fears were realized. That month, Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway through which Qatar ships virtually all of its L.N.G. to the rest of the world. Two weeks later, Iranian strikes hit Qatar’s Ras Laffan L.N.G. hub, inflicting damage that could take years to repair.
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Reuters – June 4, 2026
Iranian oil exports fall to lowest level in six years, data shows*
Iranian exports of crude oil and condensate fell to their lowest level in at least six years in May, falling well below 300,000 barrels per day, mainly due to the U.S. naval blockade, according to shipping data and analysts. The U.S. began enforcing the blockade on April 13, choking Iranian exports as the oil market faces a supply crunch due to Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz cutting exports from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates.
Iran’s exports averaged about 209,000 bpd in May, Vortexa data shows, down sharply from 1.34 million bpd in April and nearly 1.9 million bpd in March. This marks their lowest level since late 2019 and early 2020, when U.S. President Donald Trump was pursuing a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran in his first term, Vortexa said.
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The New York Times – June 4, 2026
Related: Domestic production of oil has significantly reduced the impact of energy-price shocks on US inflation and unemployment since the 1970s, according to new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. An oil shock like the one resulting from the Iran war should boost the personal consumption expenditures price index by 1.5 percentage points over the subsequent year, versus 2.2 percentage points in the 1970s, Boston Fed researchers said in the study, published Thursday — Bloomberg*
Whatever peace agreement the United States and Iran may cobble together, there will be no quick return to prewar energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Even after the mines are cleared, it will take a brave tanker captain to trust that the passage is once again secure — and higher insurance costs could raise the price of that trip by millions. But with every passing day, the world is learning to live without the Gulf’s seaborne exports. Just as the Covid-19 pandemic and President Trump’s tariffs forced a significant rewiring of global supply chains, the Strait’s closure has prompted a similar adjustment. You might be part of it. When gas prices rise rapidly, people start to limit their driving. Walmart just reported that customers are now buying less than 10 gallons of gas at a time on average at its filling stations.
The United States, Brazil, Canada, Kazakhstan and Venezuela are already increasing their oil production. Large releases of crude oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve are also helping to cover shortfalls. Like a stream that finds its way around a fallen log, markets locate new supplies when the old ones are suddenly cut off. This adjustment is hardly painless. Qatar can ship its vast liquefied natural gas exports only through the Strait, and as a result, its economy may contract 9 percent or more this year, according to the International Monetary Fund. For the Gulf overall, forecasts for growth have been cut by more than half.
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KTUU (Juneau) – May 28, 2026
A key senator warned Wednesday that Alaska’s share of the pipeline could be worth “virtually nothing” in the first special session hearing on the governor’s newly proposed liquified natural gas pipeline legislation, where lawmakers consider giving up billions in future tax revenue to make the project happen. Senate Finance Co-Chair Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, raised a fundamental concern about the state’s return on the project. As it stands, Alaska holds a 25% share of the gas line — but Stedman noted that’s before additional investors can choose to buy into the project.
“My concern is [Alaska’s stake will] have no value or virtually no value,” Stedman told the committee. “When they go out to bring in other investors, we’ll suffer a dilution issue and the question is, how big is the dilution issue? We have no idea.” According to Alaska Gasline Development Corporation financial statements, the state allocated $69.8 million in 2015 to fund that initial 25% share. Since 2013, the state has appropriated well over $500 million to gas line funds — including $355 million in fiscal year 2014 alone.
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BBC – June 3, 2026
Shell pumped oil through Nigeria pipeline for years despite pollution evidence, documents show
British multinational Shell continued operating a major oil pipeline in Nigeria for years even though it knew it was causing widespread pollution – despite a warning from its own staff and its own technical standards, internal documents obtained by the BBC show.
The files, including emails and presentations, reveal that a senior Shell executive cautioned as early as 2008 about the risks of continuing to pump millions of barrels of unrefined fuel through one of the company’s main pipelines in Africa’s biggest oil producer while it was subject to massive and destructive uncontrolled theft and infrastructure failures. Across Nigeria’s oil-rich southern Niger Delta, decades of oil spills have left a landscape deeply scarred, with wetlands increasingly coated in crude and contaminated sediment.
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Business Times – May 22, 2026
UAE left Opec to pump more as end of oil era looms, presidential adviser says
The decision by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) was three years in the making. It is based on its view the world is near the “autumn of the hydrocarbon age”, meaning the country needs to maximise oil revenues while it can, a senior adviser to the president said. The UAE ended its nearly 60-year membership of Opec on May 1.
In the immediate term, the decision is unlikely to affect the market because of Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. However, it could have a major impact on Opec’s control over supplies when oil flows normalise. Anwar Gargash, adviser to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed Zayed Al Nahyan, said the country’s exit was chiefly because its Opec production quotas kept output well below capacity.
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News.az – May 28, 2026
Who are the oilmen behind Trump’s return? How shale oil fueled his political comeback: Samir Veliyev
So the question “who are these oilmen?” has a concrete answer. They are not only the old oil barons. They are the owners, executives, investors, and lobbyists of companies producing oil in America’s shale basins, especially the Permian Basin. They include ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Occidental Petroleum, EOG Resources, Diamondback Energy, Devon Energy, Continental Resources, and other players for whom Trump’s policy means fewer restrictions, more drilling, and greater confidence in the industry’s future.
But the main conclusion is broader. Trump was not brought to power by oilmen alone. He was brought back by an America tired of high prices, migration disputes, political polarization, and a sense of instability. The oil industry was simply among those who understood this wave early, invested in it, and now expects political returns. In this sense, shale oil has become not only an energy resource, but also a political weapon. It gave Trump a simple slogan, gave the industry hope for a comeback, and gave voters the promise of a cheaper and stronger America. That is why the story of oilmen and Trump is not only a story about money. It is a story about how a barrel of oil became part of a larger battle for power in the United States.
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
RTO Insider – June 4, 2026
Texas RE Performance Report to Highlight Changing Grid*
An expert from the Texas Reliability Entity said the organization’s upcoming 2025 performance assessment will focus on the impact of large loads and renewable generation on reliability. Director of Reliability Services at the Texas Reliability Entity (Texas RE) David Penney, confirmed that the upcoming 2025 performance assessment heavily emphasizes the grid reliability impacts of rapidly growing computational load (such as AI operations and data centers) alongside the integration of variable renewable energy sources.
Surging power demand from new tech and gas operations has collided with an evolving generation fleet. Texas RE has identified the “Disorganized Integration of Large Loads” as one of the largest systemic risks to the region, while renewable generation (like solar and wind) now frequently accounts for over 100 hours a year of massive system penetration. Assessments will include AI & Computational Demands: Tracking the 70.5 GW of forecasted new load awaiting interconnection by 2028 and its localized impact on transmission and reserve margins. Inverter-Based Resources (IBR): Monitoring the stability and grid ride-through capabilities of weather-dependent generation as the system becomes more dependent on them.
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Dallas Express – June 4, 2026
First Electric Co-op Wins $411M Texas Energy Fund Loan For Sherman Power Plant
Gov. Greg Abbott announced a Texas Energy Fund loan agreement on Thursday to support the construction of a 570-megawatt natural gas power plant in Sherman, with Rayburn Electric Cooperative slated to build and operate the facility. The project is the seventh loan finalized under the Texas Energy Fund’s In-ERCOT Generation Loan Program, which offers low-interest financing for new dispatchable generation tied to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas grid. Power from the plant is expected to come online in 2028, according to the governor’s office.
Total project costs are estimated at less than $685 million, the governor’s office announced. The Public Utility Commission of Texas is providing a 20-year loan of up to $411 million, covering up to 60% of the total cost, at a 3% interest rate. The loan term runs from June 3, 2026, through June 3, 2046. “Texas is the energy capital of the world because we invest in the power needed to support the growth of our state,” Abbott said in a news release. “The Texas Energy Fund brings new, reliable generation online to ensure our power supply meets demand. This project is another step toward keeping our grid strong and our economy the envy of the world.”
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Houston Chronicle – June 4, 2026
What’s with the random, short power outages in Houston?*
Houstonians across the region are once again reporting a familiar frustration: brief but recurring power outages that last anywhere from a few seconds to an hour—sometimes without any major storm in sight. From Spring and Tomball to Montrose, the Heights, Pearland, Alief and beyond, residents say the interruptions have become increasingly noticeable in recent weeks, raising renewed questions about grid reliability heading into hurricane season. “Do we live in a 3rd world country?” one Nextdoor user wrote in frustration.
Chron asked readers about their recent experiences with outages and the post quickly drew responses from across the Houston area. “Power went out twice yesterday when it was thundering, I was in Northside almost to Spring,” one Reddit user told Chron. However, it’s not just during severe weather that power will go out. “I’m in Tomball and we’ve had about 3 random outages for a few minutes at a time since Saturday. Haven’t had one before that in over a year,” another user told Chron on Reddit.
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Renewable Energy World – June 4, 2026
A second life for EV batteries? New partnership promises grid services from California to Texas
B2U Storage Solutions, a battery energy storage system (BESS) company, has announced a strategic supply agreement with Waymo, known for its autonomous vehicle technology, to repurpose batteries from their retired fleet electric vehicles (EV) for grid services. The used battery packs will be installed into BESS interconnected to the electric grid, providing grid services in electricity markets from California to Texas. The companies say the initiative will transition thousands of retired vehicles from the road to the power sector. B2U argues that by repurposing EV batteries, it is retaining residual value that would otherwise be lost in direct recycling.
“This agreement marks a significant milestone in B2U’s mission to provide integrated repurposing services to the automotive industry,” said Freeman Hall, CEO of B2U Storage Solutions. “By extending the use of these batteries as grid storage, we are monetizing the full potential of EV batteries, now providing crucial stability to the power grid as energy demand continues to grow.”
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Environmental Energy Leader – June 4, 2026
Glencore Deal Puts East Texas Lithium on Domestic Market Map
T5 Smackover Partners has signed a binding offtake agreement with Glencore Ltd. for lithium carbonate expected to come from its East Texas operations, adding a clearer market path for one of the domestic lithium projects tied to the Smackover Formation. Under the five-year agreement, Glencore will market all lithium carbonate produced during T5’s Phase 1 development. That first phase is expected to produce about 5,000 metric tons per year, or roughly 25,000 metric tons over the full contract term. Deliveries are expected to begin once commercial production is underway.
The deal matters because U.S. manufacturers are still looking for more reliable local sources of battery materials. Lithium carbonate is a key input for markets including electric vehicles, stationary energy storage, electronics, defense systems and advanced manufacturing. For buyers trying to reduce exposure to long and complex supply chains, domestic production remains a major priority.
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Inside Climate News – May 21, 2026
NextEra Energy to Join the Offshore Wind Club, But Does It Matter?
A utility megamerger announced this week would mean that the largest offshore wind project in the United States would be owned by the same company that already is the nation’s leading developer of renewables and battery storage. NextEra Energy of Florida, the largest U.S. utility by market value, reached an agreement to combine with Dominion Energy of Virginia, the sixth-largest utility by market value and owner of the 2,640-megawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project.
There are many reasons to be wary when large utilities merge, as several experts told me and my colleagues Charles Paullin and Amy Green for our story on the deal. For one, the resulting company is so large and powerful that it becomes difficult to regulate, making it harder to manage consumer rates and address environmental concerns.
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Latitude Media – June 3, 2026
The winding path to Oklahoma’s first utility-led battery projects
A utility in oil- and gas-rich Oklahoma is on its way to owning its first battery storage projects following a recent order by state energy regulators. On May 11, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission approved a $1.2 billion proposal by PSO, an AEP-owned utility, to buy three battery storage projects, more wind power, and build a gas plant in order to meet load growth from data centers and an aluminum smelting plant. Without the new generation and storage capacity, the utility forecasts a nearly 1.8-gigawatt summer shortfall by 2029. Commissioners, in a 2-1 vote, sided with the utility and clean energy advocates — and rejected an attempt by the state attorney general and the oil and gas lobby to block the storage.
The order comes as battery storage takes off in states like Arizona, California, and Texas, but lags behind in energy markets like SPP, of which Oklahoma is a member. However, the market is starting to shift in the state, where an estimated 2.3 gigawatts of storage is under development. That’s 44% of the entire near-term pipeline in SPP, according to the analytics firm Modo Energy. The pipeline is dominated by private companies that build projects on their own dime; the OCC’s order approving a regulated utility’s recovery of storage costs from ratepayers marks a shift, and potentially opens a new pathway for development.
Regulatory
E&E News By Politico – June 4, 2026
AI’s environmental impacts not fully understood, UN says*
The environmental impacts of artificial intelligence go far beyond energy, with potentially severe effects on water, land use and carbon pollution, according to a new analysis by the United Nations.
The report looks at data centers and supply chains supporting AI and quantifies the amount of water and land needed to generate the electricity for powering those facilities around the globe. It also examines the amount of carbon dioxide that could be generated by AI’s growing energy demands. A key theme of the analysis is that AI stands to have large environmental consequences, even if renewable energy is used to power data centers.
Low-carbon electricity, for instance, can consume large amounts of water or land. Using bioenergy rather than coal, for example, cuts the amount of carbon pollution significantly but is far more water intensive. “Evaluating sustainability through a single metric can hide trade-offs and shift burdens onto places already facing water stress or land pressure,” the report says.