A year after a fire, set by the federal government, roared out of control and destroyed hundreds of homes in northern New Mexico, many of those victims struggle to find housing. Bureaucracy in FEMA is blamed. Survivors say FEMA has not lived up to the promises it made after the wildfire turned into the …
April 2023 archive
Attorney General fights Summit Utilities shutoff plans in Arkansas
The Attorney General in Arkansas has asked public utility regulators to stop Summit Utilities from its plan in July to resume late fees and service shutdowns for its Arkansas customers. Summit has an estimated 525,000 customers in Oklahoma, Arkansas and the Texarkana region of Texas. AG Tim Griffin filed a petition with the Arkansas …
Auto maker doubts there is a strong future for Electric Vehicles
The Biden administration won’t like this but its big EV push is being heavily criticized by none other than the CEO of car-maker Stellantis. CEO Carlos Tavares recently spoke at the Freedom of Mobility Forum where he cast heavy doubts about the future of the EV industry according to The Auto Wire. Click here …
VW and Canada formalize battery plant deal Oklahoma wanted
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and his state Commerce Department leaders no doubt have moved on after losing a multi-billion dollar battery plant last month they hoped to secure from Volkswagen. Over the weekend, VW and Canada, the car maker’s choice for the site of the nearly $15 billion gigafactory, sealed the deal. Europe’s largest …
Tulsa CEO calls on state to offer incentives for companies to plug abandoned wells in Oklahoma
The head of a Tulsa based energy solutions company suggests Oklahoma can take great strides in solving its thousands of abandoned and unplugged oil and gas wells by taking advantage of the emerging voluntary carbon market. Writing in the Sunday Oklahoman’s Viewpoints section, Staci Taruscio, CEO of Rebellion Energy Solutions, called on the state …
Former Interior Secretary says Supreme Court should consider Colorado climate lawsuits against oil companies
Former Interior Secretary Gale Norton is urging the US Supreme Court to take up a climate-related lawsuit by Colorado governments against fossil fuel companies Suncor and ExxonMobil. Writing in Bloomberg Law, North stated that if the high court doesn’t, the result could be a string of separate state court rulings that result in chaos. …
Oklahoma seeks well pluggers under federally funded program
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission has launched a campaign to attract private firms interested in helping with the state’s federally-funded well plugging program. In a recent announcement, the Commission explained that the state issued a “new solicitation” for those interested in becoming part of the program under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In the …
Corporation commissioners stick to state’s Open Meeting Act
Theoretically, if two of Oklahoma’s three Corporation Commissioners hold even an informal gathering where issues at hand are discussed, it is considered an illegal meeting. Such is the case in point raised last week during the contentious public discussion prior to the commission’s 2-1 vote in favor of approving nearly $6.6 billion in fuel …
Fatigue crack blamed for massive oil spill on Keystone pipeline in Kansas
The formal determination of the cause of the Keystone Pipeline leak that flooded 500,000 gallons of crude oil into a Kansas creek last December was announced Friday by operator TC Energy. “The primary cause of the rupture was a progressive fatigue crack that originated at a girth weld connecting a manufactured elbow fitting to …
PSO promotes fuel-free power program along with Earth Day
Public Service Company of Oklahoma boasted on Earth Day over the weekend that its $2.4 billion renewable energy plan involving the acquisition of three solar farms and three more wind-farm operations will reduce customers bills. In taking note of Earth Day, the utility said its proposed Fuel-Free Power Plan will more than double its …
