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FERC TO REVIEW LAW PROMOTING RENEWABLES: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Kevin McIntyre announced Thursday that the commission is beginning a review of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to consider updating it to reflect the changing nature of the electric grid.

• Times change: The law, known was PURPA, was created when the grid was less fuel diverse, and was intended to help bring smaller, distributed electricity generators into the market.

Distributed renewable energy systems generate clean electricity on site and are disconnected from the centralized grid.

Renewables are fast-growing and are becoming a larger share of the grid.

• ‘Open mind’: McIntyre, at FERC’s monthly public meeting, did not announce a format or timeline for the review, saying he has an “open mind” on whether changes are needed.

Other commissioners support the review.

“Today’s energy landscape is profoundly different from late ‘70s, and because of this many have rightly voiced a desire for a fresh look at the existing policy to better align PURPA with the needs we have today,” said Neil Chatterjee, a Republican FERC commissioner.

Commissioner Robert Powelson, a Republican, said a review is necessary so “we remain relevant with the times,” noting how the energy system has moved from a “scarcity environment” to “energy dominance or independence.”

• Power with Congress: Richard Glick, a Democratic commissioner, also supports the review, but noted FERC has limited authority to change the law.

“Major changes need to be decided by Congress, not this commission,” Glick said.

FERC EXPECTS NEAR RECORD NATURAL GAS DEMAND THIS SUMMER: FERC staff told commissioners Thursday it expects near record demand for natural gas this summer because of plentiful supply and low prices. But the staff said it expects net demand for electricity to remain the same as last summer. The grid’s generation capacity is sufficient to meet that demand, the staff said.

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BIG DAY FOR EXXON MOBIL, GE AT THE WHITE HOUSE, BUT NO ONE KNEW ABOUT IT: President Trump and the president of Uzbekistan vowed to open a “new era” in relations between the two nations, which included 20 deals between U.S. and Uzbek companies. Exxon Mobil and General Electric were two of the biggest dealmakers as Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev “pledged” to open his country’s market to U.S. companies and investors through a new cooperative agreement.

• Natural gas and oil: GE and Exxon’s deals were focused on natural gas development and oil refining. Honeywell also secured a number of energy deals.

• Clueless: But the White House press office, the National Security Council press office, and the State Department had no details about any of the deals.

John was directed to each for answers. Each time no one had a clue.

“Thanks for your inquiry. I have reached out to a number of colleagues to try and get the information for you, but I may not have it until tomorrow AM,” was John’s last email from the State Department.

Meanwhile, the Uzbekistan government was gladly sharing the details.

• A first for solar: The company SkyPower, one of the deal makers, will be the first to build a utility-scale solar power plant in Uzbekistan.

NEW NUCLEAR ENERGY TASK FORCE STARTS UP: A new bipartisan task force was created this week to focus on maintaining U.S. nuclear energy leadership at a time when the economics are severely challenging.

The Task Force on U.S. Nuclear Energy Leadership was announced by the nonpartisan Atlantic Council think tank on Wednesday. It will be headed by Sens. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.

• Bipartisan: “There is strong bipartisan agreement in Congress that nuclear energy is a reliable, safe, clean and efficient part of our national energy portfolio. This collaborative initiative will drive that message,” Crapo said.  

• The pillar: The task force will focus on nuclear energy as a “key pillar” for energy security, foreign policy and the economy. It will address challenges facing the industry and pull together solutions with the aid of experts from business, academia and government. It is slated to issue its first report in late 2018.

• The challenge: The task force comes as some of the country’s nuclear power plants are closing because of economic and market factors, and the Trump administration is struggling to deal with the issue. Energy Secretary Rick Perry is eyeing obscure laws to try to keep the power plants open, but legally it is likely a bridge too far.

FERC is looking for potential market fixes that may help, but the commission’s deliberations could take years.

• Climate factors: Then there are the climate change concerns. “There is broad agreement that carbon-free energy here at home is good for our economy, the climate, and national security,” Whitehouse said. Nuclear plants produce zero emissions, and without them many experts believe it would be hard to cut greenhouse gas emissions enough to avoid the worst effects of global warming.

BARRASSO IS ALL ABOUT CAPTURING CARBON: Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman John Barrasso, R-Wyo., is proud that his state is hosting the premier research center in the country for what is expected to be the future of the coal industry — carbon capture and utilization technologies.

• Duty now for the future: “Congratulations on the dedication of the Wyoming Integrated Test Center. This facility is certainly the future of energy technology,” Barrasso said in a letter sent Wednesday to the facility’s chief.

• Creating new markets: “Today’s dedication demonstrates Wyoming’s leadership — not just in the United States but internationally — in supporting innovative carbon capture and utilization technologies,” the senator said. “These technologies will allow researchers to create new markets and bring new economic prosperity by transforming carbon dioxide into useful products.”

• What is CCUS? The technology takes carbon dioxide that is emitted from a power plant or refinery and uses it for some other useful industrial process such as making fuel, driving presses, or oil drilling. CO2 is the main contributor to climate change. The technology reduces the intensity of CO2 emissions, as well.

DEMOCRATS PRESS PRUITT FOR ANSWERS WHILE GOP WAITS IT OUT: Barrasso says he is content to let a dozen investigations conclude before holding a single hearing on Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt’s numerous controversies over lavish security spending, a trip to Morocco, and the firing of staff who disagree with his willingness to spend taxpayers dollars on first-class accommodations.

Meanwhile, Democrats, who are prodding Barrasso to conduct oversight of Pruitt’s actions, are more than happy to drive up the number of investigations and reviews of the embattled EPA administrator.

Barrasso is the chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, which has direct oversight over the EPA. Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, the top Democrat on the committee, is leading Democrats in pressuring Barrasso to conduct the hearings.

Barrasso responded to committee Democrats’ request for a hearing by saying he wants to wait until investigations by the Government Accountability Office, EPA’s inspector general, and other federal watchdogs play out.

But that might take a while, especially as the number of probes grows.

PRUITT SETS UP LEGAL DEFENSE FUND: Pruitt admitted Wednesday that he has set up a legal fund to pay for his defense.

He pledged to make public the source of potential donations and said he would not accept money from lobbyists or individuals with business before the EPA.

HE WAS GIVEN EXTENSION TO FILE FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE FORM: Pruitt did not file his financial disclosure form for 2018 when it was due Tuesday because he was granted an extension, an EPA official told the Washington Examiner.

• Group think: Federal employees were required by law to file their financial disclosure forms by Tuesday, but Pruitt was among 70 EPA employees who requested and were granted an extension for up to 90 days. The EPA has 366 employees who are required to file the annual public financial disclosure form.

EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox said it’s common for EPA administrators to ask for extensions. Pruitt filed last year’s disclosure form on time.

HE BLAMES EPA STAFF FOR LAVISH SECURITY SPENDING: Pruitt said Wednesday that “career law enforcement officials” decided to grant him round-the-clock security detail, which no other EPA administrator had before, a story Democrats say is contradicted by a recent inspector general’s report.

The EPA has spent more than $3 million on Pruitt’s security, and the Washington Post obtained an email that shows that a Trump administration political appointee decided to give Pruitt 24/7 security from his first day in office.

• It’s wasn’t me: “Did you personally, on your first day, ask for 24/7 protection for yourself?” Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., asked Pruitt at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing.

“Personally, on the first day, the 24/7 had been determined by the criminal enforcement office to provide,” Mr. Pruitt said. “I did not direct that on the first day.”

“So your answer is no?” Udall said.

“My answer is I did not direct that on the first day,” Mr. Pruitt responded.

• Doc says: “Well, all the documents dispute that,” Udall said.

UDALL SAYS PRUITT VIOLATED LAW BY HAVING AIDE FIND HIM HOUSING: Pruitt on Wednesday acknowledged that one of his top aides helped him search for housing last year, a potential violation of federal law, but said she had done so “on personal time.”

Pruitt directed Millan Hupp, who serves as the EPA’s head of scheduling and advance, to help locate local apartment rentals for him last summer.

Friend helping friend: Pruitt at the hearing referred to Hupp as “a longtime friend.”

He said he did not pay her for helping him find housing.

• Illegal gift? Udall noted that employees of federal officials are prohibited from providing free service to their bosses.

“Then, that’s a gift, that’s a violation of federal law,” Udall said.

SCRUTINIZED MOROCCO TRIP A ‘MISCHARACTERIZATION’, HE SAYS: Pruitt on Wednesday described his controversial trip to Morocco last year as business-related, fighting accusations that the visit was inappropriate and needlessly expensive.

Pruitt told the Senate panel that he was in the country strictly to work out the environmental side of a free-trade deal between Morocco and the U.S.

“To characterize the Morocco trip as anything other than EPA business is simply a mischaracterization,” Pruitt said.

PRUITT MISSES OUT ON U.S.-MOROCCO ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE: Going unnoticed this week is the State Department’s meeting of the United States-Morocco Working Group on Environmental Cooperation this week.

Instead, the focus was on, among other issues, Pruitt’s $100,000-plus trip there last year to supposedly work on updating the environmental plan under the U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement.

Perhaps the State Department’s dealings in the North African kingdom can shed some light on Pruitt’s defense about being there under the auspices of the free-trade agreement.

• Au naturel: Pruitt says he was not there to promote the sale of U.S. natural gas exports, despite an EPA press release at the time saying that was part of the reason. The EPA inspector general is investigating the trip after Democrats prodded for it to be added to the IG’s pile.

• Plan of action: The State Department convened the environmental conference in Rabat this week “to review achievements from the 2014-2017 Plan of Action and put forward a new 2018-2021 Plan of Action outlining areas for future environmental cooperation to focus on water, air, and waste technology solutions, and efforts to combat environmental crimes.”

• Pruitt no go? The plan of action is what Pruitt had been there in December to discuss. So why wasn’t he there this time around?

• Where’s the beef? The U.S. Trade Representative’s 2018 agenda shows that EPA has a narrow role in updating the environmental plan, confined to cooperation on solid waste management.

State is handling the bigger lift on exports, but the main sticking points are far removed from energy. The big export issue with Morocco is beef, not natural gas.

• No beef for you: Morocco is the only country that the U.S. has a free trade agreement with that bars the import of beef from the United States.

AND FINALLY … SCHWARZENEGGER TELLS PRUITT TO DRINK CONTAMINATED WATER UNTIL HE RESIGNS: Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested Wednesday that Pruitt drink contaminated water following reports the EPA tried to bury a federal study into toxic chemicals in American water supplies.

“I’m a simple guy, so I have a simple remedy when people like Pruitt ignore or hide pollution: If you don’t have a problem with Americans drinking contaminated drinking water, drink it yourself until you tap out or resign,” Schwarzenegger wrote on Twitter Wednesday.

• Fearing a PR ‘nightmare’: Schwarzenegger’s comments follow a Politico report Monday into how the EPA and the White House attempted to block the publication of the study because it would be a “public relations nightmare.”

The study found that chemicals in some water supplies were harmful to human health at lower levels than the EPA previously deemed safe.

• ‘Unconscionable’: At the Senate hearing, Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vt., said efforts by the White House and political officials at EPA to block the chemicals assessment is “unconscionable.”

• Another denial: Pruitt denied he had a role in blocking the study.

“I was not aware that there had been some holding back of the report. I think it is important to have all information in the marketplace,” Pruitt said.

U.S. THREATENS TO SANCTION RUSSIAN PIPELINE: The U.S. threatened Thursday to sanction Russia over its Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would transport natural gas from Russia to Germany, arguing the project could present a security risk.

Sandra Oudkirk, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for energy diplomacy, told reporters in Berlin, according to Bloomberg, that the project could be sanctioned under a bill passed last year in response to Russia’s intervention in Ukraine and its election interference.

• List of concerns: The U.S. opposes the project because it would increase Europe’s reliance on Russian natural gas.

Russia is a top supplier of natural gas to Europe, which the Trump administration is seeking to change by encouraging the export of U.S. natural gas to the continent.

But Oudkirk also said the pipeline could allow Russia to install underwater surveillance equipment in the Baltic Sea.

FRENCH ENERGY COMPANY TOTAL TO ABANDON IRAN PROJECT UNLESS GRANTED WAIVER: French-energy company Total SA is halting development of a large Iranian gas field unless it receives a waiver from the U.S. from its soon-to-be-reimposed sanctions on the Islamic republic.

• Tough spot: Trump withdrew from the nuclear accord with Iran last week, promising to reinstate punitive financial measures after a 180-day wind-down period. The announcement put international companies that planned projects in Iran in a difficult spot, because proceeding might subject them to hefty U.S. fines through secondary sanctions.

Total cited that concern in announcing it was halting work with the Iranian national oil company subsidiary PetroPars to develop the South Pars natural gas field.

• Crux of the problem: The company would have to unwind all project operations before Nov. 4 if it doesn’t receive a waiver. At risk, Total said, is financing from U.S. banks, the loss of U.S. shareholders and the inability to continue U.S. operations. The company said it has spent less than $47 million on the project.

• Backup plan: A top Chinese energy company also involved in Total’s agreement, CNPC, said it would take the French company’s place if necessary.

RUNDOWN

Wall Street Journal Oil is above $70, but frackers still struggle to make money

New York Times Banned ozone-harming gas creeps back, suggesting a mystery source

Wall Street Journal Venezuela’s creditors are cutting its crude-oil lifeline

Reuters Asia oil thirst tab $1 trillion a year as crude rises to $80

Washington Post Humans are causing changes in the location of water around the world, NASA says