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 TO WEAKEN MERCURY RULE FOR POWER PLANTS: The Environmental Protection Agency is slated to finalize a rule that would weaken air toxics regulations for coal-fired power plants. 

It was reported earlier this week by the New York Times that the EPA plans to announce tomorrow in Louisville, Kentucky, a move to weaken restrictions on hazardous pollutants, such as mercury, for power plants. 

The regulation: The EPA has proposed a rule to weaken the Biden administration’s Mercury and Air Toxic Standards for coal-fired power plants, which impose a 67% reduction in toxic metal emissions and a 70% cut in mercury emissions from lignite-fired sources.

However, EPA Deputy Administrator David Fotouhi will be in Kentucky tomorrow to make an announcement that will “support affordable, dependable energy for American families and restore American energy dominance,” the agency said. 

He will be joined by Republican Kentucky Reps. Andy Barr and Mark Messmer, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, and Kentucky House Majority Whip Jason Nemes. 

According to documents reviewed by the New York Times, the agency claims that the loosened restrictions would reduce costs for utilities that own and operate coal plants, saving companies nearly $670 million between 2028 and 2037. 

Last April, the administration extended the compliance deadline for the standards by two years, from 2027 to 2029, citing national security concerns and lack of technology availability. 

The EPA responds: The administration took issue with the New York Times‘s framing of its proposal. “The New York Times is once again proving that their reporters aren’t smart enough to know what they’re writing about, and they should stop confusing everyone with lazy reporting,” EPA press secretary Brigit Hirsch said in a statement to Maydeen. “EPA’s proposed rule would NOT weaken MATS. If finalized, EPA’s proposal would maintain existing pollution standards dating back to 2012, which have driven sharp reductions in harmful air toxic pollutants from coal- and oil-fired power plants. Even the Biden-Harris EPA admitted in 2024 that the 2012 MATS rule provides ‘an ample margin of safety to protect public health,’ and that their proposed 2024 additions would cost more than they benefit. To be clear, the 2012 MATS standards have been in place the entire time, to this day. The 2024 Biden rule never went into effect.”

CHRIS WRIGHT GIVES IEA ONE YEAR TO WALK BACK NET-ZERO ‘AGENDA’: Energy Secretary Chris Wright threatened to pull the United States out of the International Energy Agency unless it backtracks, within one year, on its efforts to reach net-zero carbon emissions.

The details: Wright’s remarks came on the final day of the IEA’s 2026 ministerial meeting, where he spent the last few days pressuring allied energy ministers to join the U.S. in prioritizing the production of traditional fossil fuels over renewables. 

“There has been such a group mentality, 10 years invested in a destructive illusion of net zero by 2050, that the US will use all the pressure we have to get the IEA to eventually, in the next year or so, move away from this agenda,” Wright said, according to Reuters. 

Wright noted that while nations are free to engage and pursue “any agenda they want,” the IEA itself should focus on energy security and not what he described as “energy impoverishment,” a reference to the administration’s view that phasing out fossil fuels and prioritizing renewables threatens broader energy security.  

IEA’s response: Publicly, the IEA has given no indication that it will cave to the Trump administration’s demands. Still, it has not firmly committed to keeping the scenario. 

“What will be in the next virtual energy outlook? We have not yet even thought about this,” executive director Fatih Birol said, calling it a “long-term process.” 

Read more from Callie here. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PROPOSES THIRD LEASE SALE IN THE GULF: The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has announced yet another lease sale for oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, which was renamed the Gulf of America last year, marking the latest advancement in the administration’s “drill, baby, drill” agenda. 

The details: BOEM announced earlier today that the third offshore oil and gas lease sale will take place on Aug. 12. It will offer roughly 15,066 unleased blocks covering 80.4 million acres in the Gulf region. These blocks are located anywhere from 3 to 231 miles offshore, with water depths between 9 and over 11,100 feet. 

“Building on the momentum of BBG1 and BBG2, this proposed sale reinforces BOEM’s commitment to regular offshore leasing as required under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” BOEM Acting Director Matt Giacona said in a statement. “By offering leases with a competitive 12.5% royalty rate, BBG3 sends a clear signal that the era of regulatory uncertainty is behind us, and a new phase of responsible energy leadership has begun.”

Some background: The lease sale will be the third of 30 oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf that are required to take place through 2040 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law last summer. The first sale was held in December and the second is scheduled to take place on March 11. 

OIL CONTINUES TO CLIMB OVER TRUMP IRAN THREATS: President Donald Trump issued another warning for Iran if the Middle Eastern country fails to agree to scaling back its nuclear weapons program, adding upward pressure on oil prices this afternoon. 

What he said: During the first meeting of his Board of Peace, Trump warned “bad things” will happen to Iran if it fails to meet U.S. demands. He revealed that he will make a decision within the next 10 days as to whether the U.S. will launch military strikes against the country. 

“They must make a deal, or if that doesn’t happen, bad things will happen,” Trump said.

Where prices stand: Just before 2 p.m. EST, international and domestic benchmarks were up by around 2%, signaling that global markets are still worried about significant oil disruptions if tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalate further. 

West Texas Intermediate had increased by 2.07% and was selling at $66.54 per barrel, while Brent Crude jumped 1.99% and was priced at $71.75 per barrel. 

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORS REACT TO ENDANGERMENT FINDING REPEAL: Shortly following the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s monthly open meeting this morning, chairman Laura Swett applauded the EPA’s regulatory announcement last week repealing the 2009 Endangerment Finding. 

During a press conference just after the meeting, Swett was pressed on how the reversal of the finding would affect FERC’s work, and how court orders could also affect the independent agency. 

Swett started off by saying the commission was very “aware” of the announcement made by EPA administrator Lee Zeldin and the president last week, and that FERC staff is working to review what implications there may be for FERC orders. She said the agency is also awaiting final action regarding the repeal, which includes any court action that has followed. 

She then told reporters, “In general, I applaud the EPA for taking a deregulatory action. As I said, that’s something that we’re trying to do here.” 

Commissioner David LaCerte was the only other member of the FERC commission to briefly address the Endangerment Finding repeal this morning. His remarks, though, were more a dismissal of the issue. 

“One thing I’d like to make clear is that we’re not going to allow ourselves to waste bandwidth on side quests outside of jurisdiction: greenhouse gasses, endangerment findings, carbon footprints, offshore wind, siting, any extra jurisdictional matter,” LaCerte said, emphasizing that it wastes the commission and commission staff’s bandwidth. 

Trump nominated both Swett and LaCerte to serve at FERC last year, giving the commission a 3-2 Republican majority.   

EPA REVAMPS CLEAN SCHOOL BUS PROGRAM: The Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would revamp the Clean School Bus Program by looking at a broad range of fuel options. 

The program was first initiated under the Biden administration, which aimed to transition gasoline-power school buses to electric. The program offers rebates to replace existing school buses with zero-emission models. 

However, the Trump EPA claims that the program was wasting taxpayer dollars. It also claimed that electric school buses are unreliable and unsafe. The agency is now seeking public input on alternative school bus fuels and technologies. There will be a 45-day public comment period. 

The EPA said it would use the public input to revamp the program in time for the 2026 grant funding round. Meanwhile, the agency will not be awarding funds as part of the 2024 rebate program. 

MAJOR EUROPEAN OIL AND GAS PRODUCER PUSHED TO HALT NEW OPERATIONS: TotalEnergies, one of the top oil and gas producers in Europe, is being pressured to halt all new projects related to exploring for and extracting fossil fuels. 

The details: The request comes from a coalition made up of non-governmental organizations and the Paris town hall, which is attempting to block new fossil fuel projects through the courts, in an effort to lower greenhouse gas emissions and limit the effects of climate change, according to Bloomberg. 

The coalition filed the lawsuit in France, as the country has a duty of vigilance law, which requires large firms to develop plans that identify and prevent various risks, such as environmental risks, or be subject to legal challenges. They are seeking to make TotalEnergies accountable for indirect emissions associated with its fossil fuel operations. 

TotalEnergies’ legal team is fighting back, with attorney Maxime Mondain-Bernard reportedly telling the French court that the lawsuit’s demands are far-reaching and would ban the firm from carrying out its “corporate purpose.” 

ICYMI – CALIFORNIA LEADS LAWSUIT AGAINST DOE CUTS TO CLEAN ENERGY PROJECTS: California filed a lawsuit against the Department of Energy and the White House Office of Management and Budget over the administration’s cuts to funding for clean energy projects.  

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed the lawsuit yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, claiming that the Trump administration illegally canceled $1.2 billion for the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems, which was approved by Congress. 

The program was intended to create a hydrogen hub in the state to help reduce fossil fuel use for public transportation. 

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom said, “We will not allow Trump to sell out our future to his biggest donors. Trump didn’t just tear up a contract: he defied Congress, jeopardized more than 200,000 good-paying jobs, and robbed billions of dollars in health savings from communities that have been hit the hardest by pollution.” 

Last October, OMB announced that more than $7.5 billion in grant funding for the “green new scam” would be terminated, impacting more than a dozen states. 

Colorado, Washington, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin joined the lawsuit as well. 

Read more about the lawsuit in a story by the Washington Examiner’s David Zimmermann here. 

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