The Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s recent decision to join the Southeastern Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners is official after the association approved the move. SEARUC voted June 11, 2025, during its annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, to approve the Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s (OCC) membership request, officially welcoming the state regulatory body into the regional …
June 2025 archive
Energy briefs
** A federal court upholds the Biden administration’s approval of the Willow drilling project in Alaska and allows construction to continue, but orders the federal Bureau of Land Management to address a flaw in its environmental review. ** A federal oil and gas lease sale in Wyoming nets $7.7 million, which an industry insider described …
Finally—a regulator who challenged a utility
A Corporation Commissioner who wouldn’t back down. It’s the case in Arizona where a new state regulator challenged one of the state’s largest utilities over its proposed rate hike calculations and after months, it admitted….he was right. Commissioner Rene Lopez challenged Arizona Public Service company over its figures. After winning his challenge, he’s not …
NextEra and solar farm opponents await county commission vote
Wagoner County Commissioners are expected to take a vote Monday on a proposed 4,900-acre solar farm proposed by NextEra Energy and also has its share of opponents around the small town of Porter. NextEra, in its presentation earlier this year to the county commissioners, maintained the Persica Solar Farm would be an economic …
Rate hike fight might end up in court for small eastern Oklahoma town
A legal battle could develop out of the fight between the small eastern Oklahoma town of Arkoma and the city of Fort Smith, Arkansas. Fort Smith provides utilities to the border town of Arkoma and recently proposed a nearly 226% rate hike for Arkoma residents. You can imagine the shock of the Oklahomans …
Oklahoma and US record more oil and gas rig declines
Rig numbers across the U.S. and in Oklahoma took another dip in the past week with a loss in oil rig activity and in natural gas exploration. At the same time, the rig numbers revealed a slow growth of gas drilling activity in the past year. The Baker Hughes report released on Friday showed …
Osage Mineral Council set to expand control
The Osage Minerals Council in Osage County is about to expand its authority over oil and gas and other energy-related industries. The Council, part of the Osage Indian tribe is about to take over management of production, permitting and leasing of the Osage Mineral Estate. It would assume control from the Department of the …
Energy briefs
** The Nuclear Company, a startup founded in 2023, just raised over $50 million in Series A funding to develop a new wave of nuclear reactors, not by designing brand-new ones but by using existing, preapproved designs and sites, according to TechCrunch. ** According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) letter submitted to the Wisconsin Department …
Another broadband project launched in Oklahoma
A $1.7 million high-speed internet expansion project was officially launched Friday morning in the Pittsburg County town of Crowder by the Oklahoma Broadband Office (OBO) and internet service provider Canadian Valley Telephone. The project, funded through a $1.3 million federal grant administered by the OBO coupled with $430,000 in matching contributions from Canadian Valley Telephone, …
Empire Petroleum shareholders hold annual meeting
The annual meeting of stockholders at Empire Petroleum Corporation met in the past week to take care of business. Of the 33,712,727 shares in common stock, 29,382,197 were present for the June 12 meeting or by proxy, representing 87.15% of the company’s outstanding shares. The stockholders were asked to vote on three proposals. …