Week in Review

White House

  • President Donald Trump signed the $19 billion disaster relief spending bill for recovery efforts in Puerto Rico and states impacted by extreme weather, including California and Iowa.
  • Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said he saw authorizations showing that the Trump administration gave domestic companies permission to share sensitive data about nuclear power with Saudi Arabia on Oct. 18, 16 days after the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and again Feb. 18.
  • Some members of Trump’s National Security Council are prioritizing the creation of an Eastern Mediterranean gas forum to try to solve conflict and ease tensions in the Middle East, according to three senior administration officials, who say the administration is following a declassified map first created by the State Department under the direction of former Vice President Joe Biden.

Oil and gas

  • The Justice Department subpoenaed Venezuelan-owned Citgo Petroleum Corp. on May 14 as part of its bribery investigation into its parent company, Petróleos de Venezuela SA, according to people familiar with the matter and Citgo.
  • The Transportation Department’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued a proposed rule suggesting Congress amend existing laws that threaten fines and prison time of up to two decades for attacks on pipelines in operation to also include penalties for vandalism or attacks on either existing pipelines or others under construction.
  • The Government Accountability Office said in a report that the Renewable Fuel Standard has not led to reduced gas prices or significantly reduced emissions, with prices likely rising a few pennies per gallon in corn-rich states and likely falling in places with ethanol production plants.

Fires and utilities

  • The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said in an investigative report that the 410,000-acre Ranch fire began when a rancher in Potter Valley set off a spark by plunging a stake into the ground to block the entrance of a wasp’s nest.
  • The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General launched an inquiry into how Cobra Acquisitions LLC, a subsidiary of Oklahoma City-based Mammoth Energy Services Inc., obtained $1.85 billion in contracts since 2017 to help restore power in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, according to people familiar with the investigations.

2020

  • Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa confirmed that the DNC will not hold a debate focused on climate change for the 2020 election, nor will it hold any other issue-specific debates, in order to ensure that voters hear from contenders “on dozens of issues of importance to American voters.” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and at least five additional Democratic presidential candidates had called for a climate-based debate.
  • Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden rolled out his campaign’s climate platform, under which he would recommit the United States to the Paris climate accord and seek to eliminate net emissions of carbon dioxide by 2050 — one of the goals espoused in the congressional Green New Deal resolution. Media reports subsequently found uncredited text copied from other groups in the plan, including phrasings lifted from the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions’ Carbon Capture Coalition and the American Rivers environmental group.

Auto industry

  • Seventeen automakers signed a letter urging Trump to resume negotiations with California over changes the administration is considering for federal fuel economy standards, warning that the plans as currently proposed could lead to “an extended period of litigation and instability” for the car manufacturers.
  • Automakers have in some cases bought credits from Tesla Inc. in order to meet state and federal quotas for the sale of non-emitting vehicles, including General Motors Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, which disclosed the purchases to the state of Delaware earlier this year.

What’s Ahead

  • The House and Senate are in session this week.
  • The Edison Electric Institute trade group holds its annual convention in Philadelphia today through Tuesday. Former House Speaker Paul Ryan is set to keynote at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, and Energy Secretary Rick Perry is scheduled to speak at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Events Calendar (All Times Local)

06/09/2019
American Water Works Association Exposition
Edison Electric Institute Convention 2019
06/10/2019
American Water Works Association Exposition
International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo
Edison Electric Institute Convention 2019
American Nuclear Society Meeting 8:00 am
House Rules meeting on the Energy-Water fiscal 2020 appropriations bill and other funding measures 5:00 pm
06/11/2019
American Water Works Association Exposition
International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo
FCBI Energy Ltd.’s Downstream Exhibition & Conference
The Energy Efficiency Global Forum 2019
Edison Electric Institute Convention 2019
House Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee hearing on the offshore wind workforce 10:00 am
House Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee Hearing on Efficiency and Resiliency in Federal Building Design and Construction 10:00 am
House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Hearing with Former Administrators Addressing the Direction of the EPA 10:00 am
American Nuclear Society and United Nuclear Industry Alliance Supply Chain Session and Workshop 1:30 pm
Senate Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee hearing on the Nomination of William B. Kilbride for the TVA Board 2:30 pm
BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2019 Release Webcast 2:30 pm
06/12/2019
American Water Works Association Exposition
International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo
FCBI Energy Ltd.’s Downstream Exhibition & Conference
The Energy Efficiency Global Forum 2019
Great Plains Institute and Duke University Event on States and RTOs in Changing Times 8:30 am
Senate Environment and Public Works hearing on the Waters of the United States regulations 10:00 am
House Energy Subcommittee FERC oversight hearing 10:30 am
06/13/2019
S&P Global Platts 16th Annual Bunker and Residual Fuel Conference
Senate Energy and Natural Resources hearing on the Outlook for Wildland Fire and Management Programs for 2019 10:00 am
House Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Subcommittee legislative hearing 10:00 am
House Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee Hearing on Ensuring Safe Storage and Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel 10:00 am
Atlantic Council Conversation with BP PLC Group Chief Economist Spencer Dale 12:00 pm
06/14/2019
S&P Global Platts 16th Annual Bunker and Residual Fuel Conference
EDTA World Electric Vehicle Symposium & Exposition
Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) scheduled to speak at E2 event on federal climate action 12:00 pm
View full calendar

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Morning Consult Energy Top Reads

1) Biofuels Don’t Lower Gas Price or Emissions, Report Finds
Tina Davis and Mario Parker, Bloomberg

2) Climate Change Takes Center Stage as Biden and Warren Release Plans
Coral Davenport and Katie Glueck, The New York Times

3) Where 2020 Democrats stand on climate change
John Muyskens and Kevin Uhrmacher, The Washington Post

4) West Virginia coal industry data shows excessive pollution: green groups
Valerie Volcovici, Reuters

5) Joe Biden’s campaign acknowledges lifting language from other groups for its policy plans
Matt Viser et al., The Washington Post

6) GM and Fiat Chrysler Unmasked as Tesla’s Secret Source of Cash
Miles Weiss and David Welch, Bloomberg

7) The imperative of climate action to protect
European Academies’ Science Advisory Council

8) Trump team is adopting a pipeline plan to wean Europe off Russian fuel
Michael Wilner, McClatchy DC

9) Labor anger over Green New Deal greets 2020 contenders in California
Carla Marinucci and Debra Kahn, Politico

10) Puerto Rico Grid Contractor Caught Up in Federal Probes
Andrew Scurria, The Wall Street Journal

Morning Consult