DoD Power Supply Contracts With Coal Plants ** The Trump administration plans an executive order directing the Department of Defense to enter into power supply contracts with coal plants. Federal Funds: EV Chargers Must Be 100% U.S.-Made ** The Trump administration proposes rules that would require all electric vehicle chargers receiving federal funds to be …
February 2026 archive
Oklahoma Bills Target Large Electrical Loads
(Image art by Kevin Clark via ChatGPT.) Oklahoma Lawmakers Target ‘Large Load’ Power Demand The issue of large electrical loads has not only been a topic of discussion by Oklahoma regulators, but it is also the focus of several bills filed in the Oklahoma Legislature. As previously reported, a bill by Tulsa Rep. Amanda Clinton …
OCC server outages disrupt filings, delay agenda orders
Oklahoma Corporation Commission server issues disrupt filings Internet and server problems have been creating ongoing disruptions at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, interfering with the agency’s ability to monitor cases and process required filings over the past several weeks. Officials confirmed the repeated outages affected internal systems used to manage regulatory activity, including the ability to …
Oklahoma wildfires grow as drought fuels new blazes
Oklahoma firefighters remain on alert as drought conditions continue to fuel wildfires across the state, with several blazes already burning thousands of acres and prompting ongoing monitoring by emergency crews. Beaver County wildfire highlights drought risk One of the largest active fires has burned roughly 5,000 acres in Beaver County in the Panhandle. The Flat …
Bill focuses on shortage of court reporters at Corporation Commission
A bill to increase the hiring of more court reporters for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission won approval this week in a House subcommittee. Rep. Nick Archer (R-Elk City) proposed HB3177 in an effort to increase the number of full-time reporters in the commission’s judicial court system. He said the corporation commission is “grossly understaffed” …
White House pact might ease data center concerns in Oklahoma
Just as some Oklahoma leaders have expressed extensive concern over the impact that data centers will have on residential electric bills, the issue is of concern at the White House. POLITICO reported this week the Trump administration wants what some Oklahoma legislators want—to have the data center developers pay for the tremendous amount of …
Legislator wants 5 more years of studying biosolids application
Despite an interim legislative study critical of the use of biosolids on farmland in Oklahoma, members of a state House subcommittee felt there is a need for another 5 years of study. Two members of the House Appropriations and Budget Natural Resources subcommittee voted against five more years of determining the safety of spreading …
News briefs
** In the coming days, the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to revoke a determination that has underpinned the federal government’s ability to fight global warming since 2009.That scientific conclusion, known as the endangerment finding, determined that carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases are supercharging storms, wildfires, drought, heat waves and sea level rise, and …
Legislators worry about Google center’s impact on water use
Oklahomans are not the only ones raising questions about the amount of water that might be needed as data centers are being built in the state. State officials in Virginia, the nation’s biggest source of data centers, more than 600, are raising the same kind of questions and challenges following announced plans by Google …
Coterra Energy leader points to natural gas production from merger with Devon Energy
After last week’s announced merger of Devon Energy and Coterra Energy and the decision to move Devon headquarters to Houston, Coterra’s leader explained the decision will allow the newly-formed firm take advantage of its natural gas production. But he also pointed out how the nation is in desperate need of more pipeline transportation of …