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

Maryland Blames Data Centers for $1.6 Billion Power Bill Shock, but Democrats Omit Green Energy Costs

Maryland ratepayers are staring down an estimated $1.6 billion hit to their electric bills over the next decade—roughly $345 per household—to fund transmission upgrades driven largely by data centers in Northern Virginia. The state’s Office of People’s Counsel (OPC) has filed a formal complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), arguing that PJM Interconnection’s […]

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

Chevron CEO Says Oil Storage Buffers Being Drawn Down

In a candid interview at the Milken Institute Global Conference, Chevron Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth delivered a sobering assessment of the global oil market: the industry’s traditional “shock absorbers” — commercial inventories in tanks, oil on tankers (including shadow fleet vessels), and strategic petroleum reserves — have been significantly drawn down in recent months […]

Continue Reading