** OG&E announced that on December 3, 2025, Mr. Donnie O. Jones, Vice President – Utility Operations of OG&E, notified OGE Energy that he plans to retire at year-end 2026.
** The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $11 million in awards to five U.S. companies to develop and license new or modified transportation packages for high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU). The announcement was made during U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright’s visit to Idaho National Laboratory (INL), marking the final stop in his ongoing tour of all 17 DOE national laboratories.
** Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders addressed the future of energy in Arkansas on Monday at the annual Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation.
** A staff member of the American Gas Association (AGA) joined key interviews for Maryland Governor Wes Moore’s latest appointments to the Public Service Commission (PSC), which regulates Maryland utilities, according to documents obtained by the Energy and Policy Institute. AGA is the trade association for investor-owned monopoly gas distribution utilities, including several member companies regulated by the PSC, including Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE), Columbia Gas of Maryland, and Washington Gas Light (WGL).
** Pueblo, Colorado’s Transit fleet is poised for an upgrade following a nearly $16 million federal grant aimed at replacing diesel buses with hybrids. The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $15.7 million to Pueblo Transit as part of its Buses & Bus Facilities Program and Low- or No-Emission Program, the transportation agency announced.
** As U.S. natural gas prices jumped to a three-year high, coal has become a cheaper power-generating fuel for utilities, which are set to run coal-fired generators harder this winter. U.S. benchmark natural gas prices at Henry Hub have jumped from $4.23 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) at the start of November to above $5 per MMBtu by early December. Early on Friday, the front-month futures price was $5.084 per MMBtu.
World
** Iraq’s Oil Ministry has revealed that it has sent out exclusive invitations to several major U.S. energy firms to develop the country’s huge West Qurna 2 oilfield following the withdrawal of Russian oil number two Lukoil after Washington ratcheted up sanctions on Moscow.
** Kazakhstan will supply 50,000 metric tons of crude to China directly from the Kashagan oilfield in December after a Ukrainian drone damaged the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) at the Black Sea terminal, Reuters reported on Monday.
** Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ordered his cabinet on Monday to craft a road map to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, a promise the country made as host of United Nations climate talks last month.
** The protective shield at the Chernobyl power plant can no longer contain radioactive material due to damage caused by a drone strike earlier this year, the UN’s nuclear watchdog has warned. In February, the plant was damaged by a drone armed with a warhead, which pierced the outer shell, helping prevent radiation leaks from Chernobyl’s reactor Number Four. Ukraine said Russia was behind the attack, but the Kremlin denied responsibility.