Energy news in brief

**  Just a week after revealing its plan to turn itself into a clean-energy giant, BP Plc watched its share price drop to a 25-year low. The company’s shares closed in London on Thursday at 232.4 pence, the lowest level since October 1995.

**  Eighty-five Democratic lawmakers, led by Reps. Jamie Raskin (Md.), Suzanne Bonamici (Ore.) and Kathy Castor (Fla.), wrote to the Commerce Department  to oppose the appointment of climate-change skeptic David Legates to NOAA, saying he will “discredit the dedicated researchers at NOAA in their essential work.”

** Thousands of Texans face disconnection of electricity Oct. 1 after a state-run coronavirus relief program ends, sparking a consumer advocate to suggest measures be taken to prevent power disruptions that could last months.

** Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf vetoes a bill that would have required legislative approval for the state to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, saying it would “effectively deny that climate change is an urgent problem.”

** New York officials consider a bill that would allow restaurants to use outdoor propane heaters as the energy-intensive practice falls out of favor in other countries.

** An Arkansas school board approves a solar energy project that’s expected to save the district nearly $10 million over 28 years.

**  Tennessee’s top environmental regulator says electric vehicles will be key to both the state’s environmental and economic future.

** Canada’s Calfrac Well Services on Sept. 24 rejected a takeover offer of 18 Canadian cents per share from billionaire investor Wilks Brothers LLC and said it was sweetening its recapitalization plan to reduce debt.

** Enbridge will create new safety guidelines for its contracted vessels operating near Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac as part of an agreement stipulated with the state.

** The state of Indiana pulls out of a plan to build a port at a former coal plant site in southeastern Indiana, saying the land is too contaminated.

** A 10,000 gallon produced water and oil spill caused by a lightning strike reaches a tributary in western North Dakota.

** The Federal Aviation Administration will release a $1.8 million grant to the local airport in Texarkana, Arkansas this year that will allow it to start construction on the first phase of a new passenger terminal.

** The United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters, which has endorsed Biden, has released a new member-to-member digital spot on Biden’s fracking stance. “When someone tells you Joe Biden opposes fracking, show them this,” the video says, before showing a clip of Biden declaring that he is not banning fracking.