An Economic Assessment of the 765-kV Strategic Transmission Expansion Plan Brent Bennett, Ph.D. talks about An Alternative Approach to Enable Cost-Effective Growth

Texas is facing explosive electricity demand growth from the Permian Basin’s oil and gas operations, data centers, manufacturing, and electrification. In response, ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) have fast-tracked the 765-kV Strategic Transmission Expansion Plan (STEP)—including the Permian Basin Reliability Plan (PBRP)—a massive build-out of high-voltage transmission lines designed to import […]

Continue Reading

Since 2007, Shale Gas Has Saved U.S. Consumers Approximately $200 Billion Annually — A Quiet Revolution in Affordability

A new analysis from the Energy Institute at Haas at UC Berkeley quantifies what many in the energy sector have long known: the shale gas revolution, powered by hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, has delivered extraordinary savings to American consumers. According to Lucas Davis’s May 2026 working paper and accompanying blog post, shale gas has […]

Continue Reading

AI Buildout Drives 76% Power Bill Jump on Largest US Grid – But Is AI the only Reason for Higher Prices?

Power prices on the largest electric grid in the United States — PJM Interconnection, which serves 13 states and the District of Columbia — jumped a staggering 76% in the first quarter of 2026. Wholesale power averaged $136.53 per megawatt-hour (MWh), up from $77.78/MWh in the same period of 2025, according to the grid’s independent […]

Continue Reading

PJM Addressing Rising Demand and Constrained Supply

PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest regional transmission organization, is confronting a historic shift from electricity surplus to structural scarcity. A new special report released by PJM on May 6, 2026, titled Powering Reliability Through Market Design, details how unprecedented demand growth—fueled largely by hyperscale data centers and AI infrastructure—combined with accelerated retirements of dispatchable generation […]

Continue Reading

Refinery Fire in New Orleans: Is This a Pattern?

On May 8, 2026, an explosion and fire rocked the Chalmette Refinery in Chalmette, Louisiana, just east of New Orleans. Operated by PBF Energy, the facility processes roughly 185,000–190,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and specialty products. The incident occurred around 12:50–1:00 p.m. CDT in an operating 17,500-bpd reformer […]

Continue Reading

California’s Self-Inflicted Energy Disaster: Steve Hilton, Chris Wright Slam Dems With The Truth

ENB Pubnote: This article was run on David Blackmon’s Energy Additions Substack, and we highly recommend subscribing. This morning on Mornings with Maria, Secretary Chris Wright hit it out of the park, and we will have that information out later. California is a self-imposed energy island with a crisis brewing, and Secretary Wright is spot […]

Continue Reading