July 19th, 2024

The issue: The energy credentials of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, are substantial.

The 39-year-old lawmaker has a track record of fighting for policies that make energy affordable and reliable for American working families and small businesses.

Why it matters: Sen. Vance, speaking at the Republican National Convention Wednesday night, mocked the Biden administration’s clean energy and climate goals, naming it the “Green New Scam,” a reference to the “Green New Deal.” The climate proposal, introduced in Congress five years ago, called for a 10-year plan creating millions of green jobs. To date, about 300,000 new jobs came from the Inflation Reduction Act passed in 2022.

Sen. Vance also advocated to stop buying energy from “countries that hate us.” The U.S. imported petroleum from 86 countries last year. Sen. Vance is a strong advocate for domestic natural gas and oil production and opposes electric vehicles and solar power.

Both he and Trump also are pledging to restore American manufacturing jobs.

Consider: Sen. Vance clearly supports American energy independence, one of TEA’s pillars. A few past comments bear that out:

• “It’s time for our nation’s leaders to recognize and implement policies that properly support the ample natural energy we can harness and produce right here at home.”
• “There is no reason for us to be buying foreign oil at insane prices and continue straining families financially just to fill up their tanks.”
• “We need common-sense energy policies that put the American consumer first, so that our country can become energy independent.”

He clearly knows that drilling for oil and gas means a stronger America and weaker adversaries. This perfectly aligns Sen. Vance with TEA’s message of the past five years.

Bottom line: In terms of energy, Trump could not have picked a better running mate — one who will help embrace a common sense agenda focused on affordable, reliable clean American energy.

The issue: The DOE rejected Houston grid improvement a year before the Hurricane Beryl blackout. That is totally unacceptable.

The Biden administration rejected a request from Houston’s power utility last year for $100 million to strengthen its electric poles and wires against the type of hurricane winds and flooding that knocked out power to millions of people this week, a utility document shows.

Why it matters: CenterPoint has faced criticism for widespread power outages after Hurricane Beryl, a Category 1 storm, hit the area July 8, downing electric poles and wires across the nation’s fourth-largest metropolitan area.

But why it was denied is perhaps most intriguing and troubling. One expert has a theory.

“There’s such an anti-fossil-fuel initiative with the Biden administration that anything that might be remotely supporting the industry, second or third or fourth degree, gets short shrift,” University of Houston energy economist Ed Hirs said.
CenterPoint is clearly a matter of national security, as it is the communications hub for the oil patch, petrochemicals and refiners.

Consider: 

• It provides electricity to 2.8 million homes and businesses in a 5,000-square-mile area around Houston that includes major industrial ports, oil refineries and one of the nation’s largest petrochemical hubs.
• Texas gets extreme weather, from hurricanes to winter blasts. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 109 tropical systems have made landfall in Texas since 1850.
• Having reliable poles and operational wires is not too much to ask for an area with that many residents.

DOE, clearly in damage control mode, did not respond to media queries as to why the grant was denied.

Bottom line: Texas encompasses 268,000 square miles and needs its grid weatherized. Denying a federal grant to do so stinks of partisan politics or perhaps just plain negligence. Heck, maybe it’s a bit of both.

Not much news to report regarding gas prices this week. The national average for a gallon of gasoline dropped 3 cents over the past week, now sitting at $3.50. However, your financial strain at the pump varies widely depending on where you live. Drivers in Mississippi are paying the lowest prices in the nation at an average of $2.99, while California drivers are getting pummeled by an average price of $4.70.

Hearing On FERC Budget: On Wednesday, July 24, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security will have a hearing on the Fiscal Year 2025 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Budget.

FERC Open Meeting: On Thursday, July 25, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will hold an Open Meeting of the Commission.

“The Inflation Reduction Act is mostly a lot of green energy stuff. And I think it’s made our economy less energy independent. It’s also added a lot of costs out there and a lot of federal spending that’s forced the inflation prices.”

— Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, Republican VP Nominee.