** The United States apprehended an oil tanker off Venezuela on Saturday, a move Caracas called a “theft and kidnapping,” according to U.S. officials. The action marks the second tanker interdiction in two weeks and follows President Donald Trump’s announcement of a blockade targeting sanctioned oil vessels entering or leaving Venezuela.
** Texas grid officials report that battery storage systems will reduce the risk of winter weather-related outages, particularly during morning hours when electricity demand is hardest to meet.
** Residents across the Mid-Atlantic — including Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania — are being warned that high electricity bills are unlikely to ease. As recently reported by CNN, utility customers in Maryland and Washington, D.C., are among the first to see data-center-driven costs reflected in residential rates.
Power, Utilities & Infrastructure
** Federal regulators ordered grid operator PJM Interconnection to develop formal rules governing the co-location of power plants with data centers and other large electricity users — a decision analysts described as a major victory for power plant owners.
** Environmental organizations filed suit against Louisiana regulators over the reissuance of a permit for Commonwealth LNG’s export terminal after a judge previously ruled climate and community impacts were not adequately considered.
** A deadly collision between a tractor-trailer and a train one year ago underscores transportation safety challenges in Pecos, Texas, as oil and gas traffic continues to rise.
Transportation & Weather Impacts
** The Transportation Security Administration is preparing for a record end-of-year travel period, projecting 44.3 million travelers will pass through airport security checkpoints between Dec. 19, 2025, and Jan. 4, 2026. The busiest day is expected to be Sunday, Dec. 28, with roughly 2.86 million passengers screened.
World Energy Developments
** Iraq is increasingly relying on oil revenues to secure water supplies as the Tigris and Euphrates rivers shrink amid prolonged drought and upstream dam construction, producing the country’s worst water shortages in decades.
** Japan’s Niigata region is expected to endorse restarting the world’s largest nuclear power plant this week — a major milestone in the country’s post-Fukushima return to nuclear energy.
** China’s electricity-market overhaul is strengthening the economics of energy storage, fueling rapid growth among Chinese manufacturers that already dominate global battery production. Lithium-ion battery shipments for energy storage are projected to rise 75% this year.