Nearly a quarter of a century after they were installed, the oldest continuously operating wind turbines in Nebraska are coming down. The two 290-foot-tall-turbines along I-80 near Lincoln were installed in 1998 and 1999 by Lincoln Electric System. They are outdated and being replaced by wind power provided by wind farms in Oklahoma, Kansas …
Category: General
Lankford and Mullin offer support for advancement of more nuclear power
Oklahoma U.S. Sens. James Lankford and Markwayne Mullin were part of the U.S. Senate’s overwhelming approval of what is described as a “major energy bill” that could mean more approval of more nuclear power to be built across the country. The vote Tuesday was 88-2 and Lankford and Mullin were among the 88 senators …
Energy briefs
** A union that represents Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) employees issued its first political endorsement Tuesday: Supporting President Biden’s reelection. The union, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Council 238, represents 8,000 EPA employees, including engineers, lawyers and inspectors. ** Leaders of five national environmental organizations criticized New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) controversial decision to …
Texas Supreme Court sides with state regulators over 2021 winter storm decision
The Texas Supreme Court has ruled state regulators did not exceed their authority in setting historically high electricity utility rates during the 2021 Winter Storm Uri, a storm that not only killed more than 200 people in Texas but also saw the nation’s highest natural gas prices in Oklahoma. It was a 7-0 …
Bingman wins GOP primary in race for Oklahoma Corporation Commission
Former state Senator Brian Bingman walked away Tuesday with the Republican nomination for Corporation Commission, receiving more than 53% of the more than 236,000 votes cast in Oklahoma’s only state-wide election in the primary. As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, two hours after the polls closed, Bingman, who resigned last fall as Secretary of State …
Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy shareholders approve merger
Shareholders of both Chesapeake Energy of Oklahoma City and Southwestern Energy of Houston, Texas voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to approve the proposed more than $7 billion merger of the two companies. The merger was announced in January and went to a vote of shareholders of each company. The Federal Trade Commission still must sign off …
More gains for crude oil prices but not so much for OK energy stocks
Tuesday was another day of gains for crude oil prices as they rose by more than 1%, thanks to growing tensions in Europe and the Middle East as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza remain a threat to global supply. West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, rose $1.24 or 1.5% and settled at $81.57 …
Third and final hearing into OGE rate hike request scheduled for Thursday
An Administrative Law Judge spent two hours Tuesday morning hearing testimony regarding Oklahoma Gas and Electric’s reduced rate hike request totaling $126.6 million before adjourning to hear oral arguments on Thursday. Judge Carly Ortel presided over the second hearing scheduled into the rate hike request that had originally totaled $332 million before the utility …
Oklahoma gas prices hit $3 but remain among lowest in US
Oklahoma has some of the lowest gasoline prices in the U.S. despite signs of increases in the past few weeks. The state’s average this week, according to AAA, reached $3 a gallon, up 3 cents for last week. A month earlier, the statewide average was $3.11. Prices in Oklahoma City average $3.01, 9 cents …
FERC raises questions about Southwest Power Pool’s operations
The Southwest Power Pool, the 14-state electricity grid of which Oklahoma is a member, is one of four grid operators coming under scrutiny by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The SPP, according to reports, might have questionable rules about the right of transmission owners to pay for and also earn a profit on network …