Evergy, the largest electric utility in the state of Kansas announced this week plans to build two more natural gas plants in the next six years. The company said it will build combined-cycle natural gas plants — each with a 705-megawatt capacity — in Sumner and Reno counties in 2029 and 2030, respectively. …
Southwest Power grid aware of warmer weather
The heat of the next few days across Oklahoma and the rest of the Midwest caught the attention of the Southwest Power Pool electric grid. The SPP issued a Conservative Operations Advisory for Tuesday and Wednesday and it covers the grid’s balancing authority footprint made up of 14 states. The advisory is to …
Crude oil prices made 2% gain in Monday’s trading
It wasn’t enough to recover from the 7% decline over the past week, but crude oil prices Monday gained 2%. At the same time it sent a slap in the face of most Oklahoma energy stocks as they suffered losses. The increase in crude prices came as there was no letup in the …
AG Drummond says “YES!” to Supreme Court decision to hear his appeal in federal overreach suit
A U.S. Supreme Court decision to consider Oklahoma’s litigation opposing the Biden-Harris Administration’s federal overreach in rejecting Oklahoma’s state implementation plan (SIP) for ozone emissions drew a big favorable reaction from State Attorney General Gentner Drummond. In March 2023, Drummond filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit against …
Opposition stacks up against hydroelectric project on SE Oklahoma’s Kiamichi River
By Mike W. Ray of the Southwest Ledger The city manager of Hugo, the Choctaw County Board of Commissioners and all three Pushmataha County commissioners have declared their opposition to a proposed hydroelectric plant in southeastern Oklahoma because of its potential adverse effects on the quantity and quality of water in the Kiamichi …
State House Committee to hold interim study on energy in Oklahoma
The wind industry, the Kiamichi River hydroelectric project and other related issues will be focused on Tuesday by members of the Oklahoma House Energy and Natural Resources Committee. They will spend the entire day discussing the issues prior to the start of the 2025 session of the Oklahoma legislature. Energy Generation will be the …
Four new petroleum liquids pipelines, including one in Oklahoma, have been completed in the United States since 2023
Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Liquids Pipeline Projects Database Since 2023, pipeline companies have completed four new petroleum liquids pipeline projects in the United States—three crude oil pipeline projects and one hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGL) project—according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s recently updated Liquids Pipeline Projects Database. And one of them is in Oklahoma. No new …
Rainfall is badly needed across Oklahoma
Dried ponds are no longer a rare sight in Oklahoma. The lack of rainfall is quite evident as shown by the map presented Monday on the Oklahoma Mesonet update. Things might change as a result of stormy weather predicted in western Oklahoma. But the lack of rainfall, according to State Climatologist Gary McManus, is …
Arkansas Attorney General changes stand on 23% rate hike for Summit Utilities
A reversal by the Arkansas Attorney General on the settlement of a more than 23% rate hike for customers of Summit Utilities has created a political storm in the state. AG Tim Griffin first agreed to the settlement of the 23.4% rate hike for the 410,000 homes and businesses served by Summit Utilities. But …
Solar panels in Puerto Rico result in floods for the people
Ever since Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico’s power grid 7 years ago, the island territory has struggled with power changes. As we have followed the struggles of Oklahoma City’s Mammoth Energy Services to get paid millions for the work it did in restoring electrical power after the 2017 hurricane, now comes a different challenge …
