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Energy briefs—Iran shoots at ships
** Iran fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz and seized two of them on Wednesday, intensifying its assault on shipping in the key waterway a day after U.S. President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire while maintaining an American blockade of Iranian ports. ** “Multiple oil spills are visible from space after Iranian and US-Israeli …
New Mexico asked to allow produced water reuse
New Mexico is facing another attempt to create regulations allowing the use of treated produced water from hydraulic fracturing outside the state’s oil and gas fields. The New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission plans another meeting in May to consider a recent petition to allow the treatment, industrial reuse and discharge of the waste. It …
USA Rare Earth expands more
Months after Stillwater’s USA Rare Earth company was in line to get $1 billion in government funding and loans in its push for rate earth mineral development, the proposal has come under close scrutiny in Washington, D.C. The company, with its magnet manufacturing plant in Stillwater, made another major announcement this week in its …
Linemen honored at capitol
State legislators took action this week honoring utility company linemen across the state following Saturday’s National Lineman Appreciation day. The House and Senate on Tuesday adopted resolutions recognizing the vital contributions of local linemen for their work maintaining Oklahoma’s power grid 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. Sen. Grant Green, R-Wellston, presented Senate …
Utility CEOs highly paid
A new study showed Chief Executive Officers of the nation’s investor-owned electric and gas utilities hauled in $626 million total last year and two of them are in Oklahoma. The analysis by the Energy and Policy Institute of recent annual corporate filings revealed the top ten earners received more than $200 million “as customers …
Millions from Uncle Sam’s spigot
By M. Scott Carter Capitol Bureau Chief, Lawton Constitution. Oklahoma will receive millions of dollars in federal grant funds to pay for the final phase of a mammoth statewide broadband internet expansion program, the head of the state’s broadband office confirmed Tuesday evening. In an exclusive interview with The Constitution, Mike Sanders — a former …
Data center moratorium in OKC
The Oklahoma City Council Tuesday unanimously approved a temporary moratorium on new data centers within city limits, joining the growing list of cities and counties taking action to slow down the data center developments spreading across the nation. The moratorium halts the acceptance of new applications, the processing of and the issuance of rezoning …
Oil rebounds over uncertainty
With uncertainty rising faster than a gushing oil well, oil prices gained Tuesday as the world waited to see if peace talks resumed with Iran or whether President Trump would carry out his threats as promised. The president’s cease fire comes to an end this week and while Iran’s military said one thing and its …
Supreme Court rules against Gann
The Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down Rep. Tom Gann’s legal challenges of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s approval of rate hikes for Public Service Company of Oklahoma in 2024. In one of several legal challenges made by the Inola Republican legislator, he challenged the actions of the Corporation Commission, including participation of Commissioner Todd Hiett …
Sandhills power line fight
Just as Oklahoma rejected a controversial electrical transmission line a few years ago, the same kind of fight is being played out in other states, such as Nebraska and South Dakota. There, ranchers in the area known as the Sandhills joined forces with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and a nonprofit called Preserve the Sandhills, …