WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Tuesday, readers! Please join us in wishing Maydeen a very Happy Birthday! 🎂🎉🥳
It’s a busy week in the district for those in the energy sector, and today is no exception. Maydeen has been on the Hill and is bringing you the latest on a sweeping minerals package unveiled by a pair of bipartisan lawmakers this morning 🪨🏛️.
Meanwhile, Callie stopped by the American Petroleum Institute’s State of American Energy event, where API president Mike Sommers offered commitments on behalf of the oil and gas industry to keep reporting greenhouse gas emissions 🏭💨.
Plus, be sure to keep reading to get more information on how Microsoft is planning to prevent energy costs associated with its data centers from being passed on to consumers.
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner energy and environment writers Callie Patteson (@CalliePatteson) and Maydeen Merino (@MaydeenMerino). Email cpatteson@washingtonexaminer dot com or mmerino@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
EPA PROPOSES TO NARROW STATES’ PERMITTING POWER THROUGH WATER RULE: The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed limiting the scope of state and tribal review of federal projects’ effect on water quality, in an effort to prevent Democratic governors from blocking oil and natural gas projects.
The details: Earlier this afternoon, the EPA proposed a rule to narrow Section 401 of the 1972 Clean Water Act, which allows states and tribes to review federal projects before issuing a water certification to ensure projects comply with water quality standards.
This law has previously been used by Democratic governors, including former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, to block the construction of natural gas pipelines.
President Donald Trump first sought to narrow the scope of the law in 2020, limiting reviews to just the direct effects of discharges on water quality. This was reversed under the Biden administration. And in true political pendulum fashion, the Trump administration is aiming to narrow the review scope once again.
If approved, the rule would return the scope of reviews to discharges into the waters of the United States, rather than to the activity itself.
Read more from Maydeen here.
ENERGY AND COMMERCE TO LOSE SENIOR REPUBLICAN: Florida Republican Neal Dunn announced earlier today that he would be retiring from his seat at the end of his term, leaving behind a decade in Congress and the vice chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce committee.
“It has been my greatest honor to fight for lower taxes, our military and veterans, the unborn, healthcare innovation, and policies that empower Americans over bureaucracy and addressing threats from Communist China, Russia, and others,” Dunn said, adding that he will be returning home to Panama City to spend time with family.
Dunn is the 48th incumbent member of the House who will not be running for reelection later this year. Eleven members of the Senate have also announced their retirements.
Read more from the Examiner’s Molly Parks here.
GRID OPERATOR PUSHES BACK ON WIND CRACKDOWN: PJM Interconnection, the largest power grid operator in the U.S., is pushing back on the Trump administration’s decision to pause five offshore wind leases along the East Coast.
Court documents reviewed by Daily on Energy show that PJM is asking the court to reverse the administration’s halt construction on one of the projects affected – Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind. PJM has said that the project, expected to be fully operational this year, is crucial to meet rapidly increasing demand, in part from data centers, in the grid operator’s region.
“Given the size of the project and the long lead times associated with development of alternatives, further delay of the project will cause irreparable harm to the 67 million residents of this region that depend on continued reliable delivery of electricity,” PJM said.
If you missed it: The Virginia project’s case is expected to be taken up in court this coming Friday. Offshore wind advocates are hoping for a win after another federal judge ordered a separate offshore wind project paused by the administration to resume construction yesterday. You can find the latest on the Revolution Wind project from Callie here.
ELECTRICITY PRICES STILL ON THE UP: The Trump administration finished its first calendar year with electricity prices soaring, as prices rose by 6.7% for the year ending in December.
The details: In the latest update to the Consumer Price Index, released this morning, BLS reported that the cost of all energy products rose by 2.3% for the year ending in December, roughly 0.3% greater than the month before.
Only gasoline saw prices fall (by around 3.4%) year-over-year, while fuel oil, electricity, and utility piped gas service were all up. Electricity prices did slightly drop month-over-month, with prices falling by just 0.1% from November. Utility gas service, however, rose by 4.4% on the month.
Trump promise: The Trump administration has repeatedly vowed to bring down electricity prices, with Trump himself promising during his campaign to cut costs in half for consumers. As electricity prices continue to outpace inflation, it has become increasingly difficult to fulfill that promise. Still, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Callie in December that he was willing to put his job on the line over the issue.
When asked who voters should hold responsible if electricity prices continue to rise by the end of the Trump administration, Wright said, “us, absolutely!”
“They should kick me out, fire me!” Wright said, adding that if prices fail to come down, he wouldn’t be delivering on the president’s agenda.
You can watch Callie’s full exclusive interview with the secretary on electricity prices here.
BIPARTISAN CRITICAL MINERAL BILL: House lawmakers today introduced a critical mineral package aimed at creating new federal positions and offices to strengthen international cooperation and diversify sourcing.
California Reps. Young Kim, a Republican, and Ami Bera, a Democrat, on Tuesday introduced the Developing Overseas Mineral Investments and New Allied Networks for Critical Energies, or DOMINANCE, Act.
The bill would make a number of changes to the federal government, including authorizing the State Department to establish multi-year “Energy Security Compacts” with partner countries to help diversify the supply chain and counter economic coercion. It would also set rules for funding transfers, oversight, reporting, and implementation assistance, while prohibiting military aid, projects that harm U.S. jobs or safety, and conflicts of interest.
The legislation would create an Assistant Secretary for Energy Security and Diplomacy in the State Department to lead critical mineral policies. It would also authorize the president to negotiate international mining, processing, manufacturing, investments, and environmental and labor standards with other countries.
At a presser event at the Capitol, Bera said, “It is really important for Congress to move forward with authorizations, codify legislation, etc., because you can’t go from one administration to the next … this is something that we have to do for the long haul. It’s not going to happen overnight.”
Read more by Maydeen here.
OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY GROUP TO KEEP REPORTING EMISSIONS EVEN IF TRUMP SCRAPS PROGRAM: The American Petroleum Institute and its members will continue to report their greenhouse gas emissions, even if the Trump administration does away with its decades-old federal reporting program.
Quick reminder: The EPA has proposed repealing the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, which has required large polluters to report their greenhouse gas emissions since 2011. In the fall, the agency said the program was “burdensome” and “costly,” and has had “no material impact on improving health and environment.” The move is a part of the administration’s broader effort to end climate initiatives and policies.
The program has received support from groups like API, as well as other oil majors and those within the Republican Party, as the data is used to claim federal tax credits for carbon capture systems as well as legal defenses.
What’s new: Following API’s State of American Energy conference this morning, API president Mike Sommers confirmed with reporters that the oil and gas industry group has no intention to stop reporting emissions. If the administration moves forward with repealing the program, API will have a replacement program for its members, he said.
“We’re trying to work with a third party to make sure that that data is credible in your eyes,” he said, referring to members of the press. “But our members are committed to continue reporting, regardless of what the federal government decides to do with the GHGRP.”
AND SPEAKING OF EMISSIONS: A new report released by research firm the Rhodium Group found that U.S. greenhouse gas emissions rose in 2025 for the first time in two years – signaling to climate activists and environmentalists that it will be extremely difficult to make progress on emissions reductions under the Trump administration.
The details: The report, released today, found that greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. increased by 2.4% last year. While a reversal from the two years prior, emissions levels are still on the downward trend, with the numbers from 2025 being 6% lower than in 2019 and 18% below 2005 levels.
Last year’s jump was primarily driven by the building and power sectors, as colder winter temperatures drove up demand from space heating facilities. This alone contributed to emissions related to fuel use in buildings rising by 6.8%. The Rhodium Group also found that higher natural gas prices and soaring energy demand led to more coal-fired electricity, driving a 3.8% increase in emissions in the power sector.
Emissions levels also rose in the industrial sector, and remained relatively flat when it came to transportation. At this rate, the Rhodium Group estimates, the U.S. will see emissions levels drop by 26-35% compared to 2005 levels by 2035. In 2024, the research firm estimated that drop would be around 38-56%.
The group largely attributed the change to the changes made to energy tax credits under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as well as Trump administration efforts to roll back climate initiatives and to keep coal plants running
ICYMI – TRUMP’S CALL TO BIG TECH TO KEEP ELECTRICITY BILLS FROM SOARING: As electricity prices soar, Trump is calling on large technology firms like Microsoft to come up with ways to ensure that Americans don’t have to “pick up the tab” for the electricity demands brought on by data center development.
The details: The Trump administration is facing a conundrum as it wishes to accelerate development of artificial intelligence, and thereby data center facilities, while also keeping energy costs low for consumers living near these operations. In a post to Truth Social yesterday evening, Trump floated a solution of requiring data center developers, such as Big Tech, to foot the bill for all their energy needs, as to not take away resources from the existing grid and risk higher utility bills for homeowners.
“I never want Americans to pay higher Electricity bills because of Data Centers,” Trump said, adding that the administration will make several announcements related in the coming weeks.
“First up is Microsoft, who my team has been working with, and which will make major changes beginning this week to ensure that Americans don’t ‘pick up the tab’ for their POWER consumption, in the form of paying higher Utility bills,” he said, adding, “Data Centers are key to that boom, and keeping Americans FREE and SECURE but, the big Technology Companies who build them must ‘pay their own way.’”
Big Tech’s promise: Microsoft followed up the president’s post with an announcement this morning that it plans to pay for more electricity used by its AI operations. Vice chairman and president Brad Smith wrote in a blog post that the company is asking utilities and public commissions to set the company’s electricity rates “high enough” to cover the electricity costs associated with their data centers.
“Our goal is straightforward: to ensure that the electricity cost of serving our datacenters is not passed on to residential customers,” Smith said. He added that the company will work with utilities on ways to reduce energy use and add electricity back onto the grid.
You can read more on Microsoft’s announcement from the Examiner’s David Zimmerman here.
RUNDOWN
The Hill As MAHA wages war on pesticides, the GOP is caught in the middle
Associated Press How will climate change reshape the Winter Olympics? The list of possible host sites is shrinking
Politico The Trump vs. Newsom energy showdown is just getting started
