** The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission denied the proposed $2.6 billion acquisition of American Electric Power Co. Inc.’s Kentucky Power Co. unit by Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp., saying the Ontario-based buyer hasn’t provided sufficient assurances that transmission rates will not climb as a result of the transaction.
** Republicans said they would do away with the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis when they retook control of the House this year. The rules package makes its elimination official. Instead, the GOP will institute two new special panels: a Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party and a Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.
** U.S. battery storage deployment exceeded federal expectations in 2022 and has seen a “bonkers rate of acceleration” from just a few years ago, says a clean power expert.
** Federal courts are expected to rule on several climate and energy issues this year, including deciding the fate of an offshore drilling lease sale and the federal government’s authority to put a price tag on greenhouse gases.
** The Biden administration has missed deadlines to propose clean air rules and climate mandates, setting regulators up for a busy 2023.
** U.S. climate envoy John Kerry calls on wealthy countries to help “victimized” nations that produce just a small piece of emissions but face the brunt of climate change.
** EQT Corp said on Wednesday it has eliminated all natural gas-powered pneumatic devices from its production operations, reducing the natural gas producer’s methane emissions by 70%.
** Sen. Joe Manchin says hew wants to slam the brakes on the Treasury Department’s delay of the $7,500 tax credit for EV buyers. He says the Biden administration is giving in to companies looking for loopholes.
** The bodies of four people killed in a late December helicopter crash in the Gulf of Mexico have been recovered, company officials confirmed Tuesday. The helicopter crashed at around 8:40 a.m. Dec. 29 while carrying a pilot and three oil platform workers, according to the U.S. Coast Guard’s 8th District.
World
** Russia’s oil export revenue fell by $15 million during the last week of 2022, a sign that Western sanctions are hitting Moscow’s ability to fund its war on Ukraine.
** Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos is evaluating debt payment options with the Finance Ministry as the company struggles to convert high oil prices into profits amid weak production and a focus on refining instead of exporting its crude.
** Natural gas prices in Europe fell back to pre-war levels, as a bout of mild weather reduced demand and eased fears of a prolonged supply crunch
** Chinese bureaucrats are discussing plans to resume some imports of Australian coal after a more than two-year ban as relations between the nations improve. David Stringer reports on Bloomberg Television.
** Oil prices will spring back above $100 a barrel in 2023 as tight supply meets growing demand, the political research and consultancy firm Eurasia Group said in its list of top risks this year.
** A shipping channel snafu is slowing Chevron Corp’s efforts to load tankers at one of its four Venezuelan joint ventures and bring heavy crude to the United States, three people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.