Author: Erick Parel

Morgan Stanley Calls Out that Oil Buffers Could Run Out Before Hormuz is Reopened

Energy News Beat In a stark warning that underscores the fragility of the global oil market amid the ongoing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, analysts at Morgan Stanley have declared the oil market is in a “race against time.” The investment bank’s commodity team, led by Martijn Rats, cautions that key market buffers — […]

PJM Addressing Rising Demand and Constrained Supply

Energy News Beat 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 […]

Energy Realities Round Table Discussion – Critical Energy Issues

Energy News Beat One thing you can say about this energy news cycle is that there is no shortage of topics, so the Energy Realities Team of David Blackmon, Irina Slav, Dr. Tammy Nemeth, and Stu Turley is bringing the biggest news stories of the week to help get your week rolling. We had way […]

The EU to “Hand Out Carbon Credits to Appease Businesses”

Energy News Beat The European Commission has just proposed handing out billions more in free carbon emission permits to European industry under its flagship Emissions Trading System (ETS). According to Bloomberg, the updated benchmark values for 2026–2030 would deliver roughly €4 billion ($4.7 billion) worth of additional free allowances to manufacturers covered by the cap-and-trade […]

Is Hungary’s Fight Over Russian Energy the First One to Start a Trend?

Energy News Beat Hungary’s newly elected government is already testing Brussels’ resolve on energy policy. In a move that could signal growing fractures within the EU, Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s administration has signaled it will continue purchasing Russian energy if it remains the cheapest and most reliable option—directly challenging the bloc’s binding phase-out rules under […]

NERC Issues Alert on Data Centers Threatening Grid Stability

Energy News Beat The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has issued a rare Level 3 Essential Action Alert—its highest-urgency notification—warning that the explosive growth of data centers, particularly those powering AI training, cryptocurrency mining, and traditional computing loads, is introducing new risks to the bulk power system. Issued on May 4, 2026, the alert […]

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

Energy News Beat 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 […]

Trump Rejects New Iran Peace Offer as ‘Totally Unacceptable’

Energy News Beat In a sharp rebuke that underscores the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” doctrine, President Donald Trump has rejected Iran’s latest peace proposal as “totally unacceptable,” signaling that backchannel talks remain deadlocked and energy markets could face renewed volatility. The rejection comes amid a fragile ceasefire that has held since early April 2026 but […]

How Many Decommissioned Nuclear Reactors Have the Potential to Be Restarted in the U.S.?

Energy News Beat The U.S. nuclear fleet has seen dozens of reactors permanently shut down over the decades, driven by economics, aging infrastructure, regulatory decisions, and events like the 1979 Three Mile Island accident. As of 2026, the country operates around 94 commercial reactors with roughly 97 GW of net capacity. However, more than 40 […]

The War Between Refiners Over E15 Rises Again This Week In Washington

Energy News Beat ENB Pub Note: This article was originally run on David Blackmon’s Substack, and we highly recommend subscribing. Ethonal needs to go away and have an organized move out of the market. This needs to be shut down, as it is worse for the environment, and ruins cars and shortens their useful life. […]