Dive Brief: California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2025-2026 revised budget, unveiled last week, would cut about $423 million from grid reliability programs as the state faces a $12 billion shortfall. The programs are designed to shore up the state’s energy resources by providing on-call emergency supply or load reduction resources during extreme weather events such as heatwaves or other grid emergencies. Advocates have criticized the proposed cuts. Legislators have until June 15 to make changes and finalize the budget. Dive Insight: Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for the governor pointed to a recent release from the state’s energy commission that says the state is in good shape to meet demand this summer “while remaining vigilant about ongoing risks.” In a press conference last week, Newsom blamed the budget shortfall on economic uncertainty from President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs, stock market volatility and a reduction in global tourism. The California Solar & Storage Association has come out against cuts targeting the Demand Side Grid Support and Distributed Electricity Backup Assets programs, which state lawmakers created in 2022 to try to improve reliability and avoid blackouts during emergencies. In the January draft of the 2025-26 budget, DSGS was slated to get $75 million, plus about $18 million in backfill funding for 2023-24, while DEBA was to get $200 million in 2025-26 and another $180 million the following year. Both programs are funded primarily from California’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which is funded by its cap and trade program. The new proposal reduces to zero all greenhouse gas reduction funds for these programs proposed for 2025-2026 and future years pending an agreement on cap and trade, which the governor wants to rename “cap and invest.” That would essentially zero out funds for DSGS. The revised budget proposes giving $50

WASHINGTON— The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today released its Response to Comments on the 2024 LNG Export Study, marking a critical step toward returning to regular order on liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. With this action, DOE has completed the final hurdles left over from the Biden administration’s reckless pause on LNG export permits, paving the way for the Trump Administration to fully unleash American LNG exports. “President Trump was given a mandate to unleash American energy dominance, and that includes U.S. LNG exports,” U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said. “The facts are clear: expanding America’s LNG exports is good for Americans and good for the world. Today, the Department of Energy is following the facts, closing the door on the Biden administration’s failed policies, and putting America’s energy future on stronger footing.” “The 2024 Study confirms what our nation always knew—LNG supports our economy, strengthens our allies, and enhances national security. Biden’s opposition defied reason and reality and hurt American progress. We are pleased to issue the Response to Comments on the 2024 LNG Export Study, which will allow DOE to close out this chapter and fully return to regular order on LNG exports,” said Tala Goudarzi, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management. The 2024 LNG Study was released at the end of the Biden administration in December 2024 and had a public comment period through March 20th of this year. Based on the record evidence from the 2024 LNG Export Study and the public comments received, DOE makes several key findings, including: the United States has a robust natural gas supply that is sufficient to meet growing levels of exports while minimizing impacts to domestic prices; growing LNG exports increases our gross domestic product and expands jobs while improving our trade balance; and increasing

Oil ended the session slightly higher following a volatile day of trading as investors look for clues about Russia-Ukraine truce talks and a potential nuclear deal with Iran. Brent futures traded higher to settle near $65.50. West Texas Intermediate also rose. US President Donald Trump said that Ukraine and Russia would begin talks “immediately” on ending their war after a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. “I suppose with expectations set so low, any progress toward a ceasefire is being seen as a modest positive for negotiations — and slightly bearish for crude,”  said Rebecca Babin, a senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth Group. “That said, I’d still argue that the potential market impact is far more significant when it comes to Iran.” Uncertainty over a deal with Iran also added to volatility in oil markets. Tehran won’t abandon its pursuit of civilian nuclear energy under any circumstances, President Masoud Pezeshkian said in remarks on state television. His comments come as the rhetoric between Iranian and US officials intensified in recent days. Investors are closely watching developments as an easing of sanctions on either Iran or Russia could potentially add even more barrels to a global market that is facing oversupply this year. Tighter sanctions, on the other hand, could boost prices. Oil had earlier declined with other risk assets after Moody’s Ratings stripped the US government of its top credit rating. The downgrade, which trailed other major agencies, risks reinforcing Wall Street’s growing worries over the US sovereign bond market and a slowing economy, which in turn clouded the outlook for oil consumption. Still, the physical market offered some bullish signs as buying interest returned in the key North Sea market on Monday, with six shipments changing hands. There was also a raft of unanswered

India has invoked emergency measures that require gas-fired power stations to produce more in order to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply during the summer season, as soaring temperatures boost demand. The nation’s grid controller will assess the periods of high demand when the gas-based plants will be required to generate electricity, according to a power ministry order seen by Bloomberg. The units will get a two-week notice, giving them enough time to arrange fuel, the order said. India’s gas-fired power facilities, with a combined capacity of more than 20 gigawatts, operate at about a fifth of their full potential as they struggle to source the fuel at rates they can afford in a price-sensitive electricity market. The nation’s peak power demand reached a record high of 250 gigawatts last summer and the ministry expects this to hit a new peak this year. The power produced under the emergency guidelines — effective from May 26 until June 30 — will have assured offtake and be covered under a payment security mechanism, according to the order. The government invoked section 11 of the electricity law that allows it to force any power station to operate as directed in extraordinary circumstances, such as a natural calamity, a threat to national security or any public order. “In public interest, it is imperative to ensure optimal utilization of all available generation resources to meet the growing power requirements,” the order said. “Despite leveraging all available resources, occasional power shortages continue to be observed in certain regions during non-solar periods.” The power ministry didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Electricity demand in the country has outpaced generation growth, resulting in shortages when consumption surges. Over the past decade, the expansion in capacity has been led by solar power, which now accounts for more than

Republican holdouts on the House Budget Committee allowed their party’s massive budget bill to advance Sunday night after negotiating deeper cuts to the Inflation Reduction Act, but they continue to call for even more cuts to clean energy incentives. The bill had been blocked from passing Friday night by Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas; Ralph Norman, R-S.C.; Andrew Clyde, R-Ga.; and Josh Brecheen, R-Okla. Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Pa., also voted no; he said on X that he “fully support[s] the One Big Beautiful Bill” and his vote was “a procedural requirement to preserve the committee’s opportunity to reconsider the motion to advance OBBB.” Brecheen said in a Friday X post that he felt the House “cannot allow wind and solar tax credits, in current form, to continue in the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill.’ As it is currently written, Green New Scam subsidy phaseouts are delayed until 2029 — with some of these subsidies lasting until 2041!” After a weekend of negotiation, Republican lawmakers struck a deal for the bill to make deeper cuts to items including the IRA’s clean energy incentives, resulting in the legislation passing out of committee 17-16 late Sunday night. However, Roy said in a Sunday post on X that while the new bill “reduces the availability of future subsidies under the green new scam,” it “does not yet meet the moment — leaving almost half of the green new scam subsidies continuing.” The new shape of the bill is not fully known, but the legislation was advanced to the House Rules Committee, which will take it up early Wednesday morning. Breechen said after the Friday vote that he was grateful to President Trump “for leading the charge to end these Green New Scam giveaways” and thanked Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and House Budget Committee

Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré (Ret.) is a former commanding officer of the U.S. First Army. He is currently head of The Green Army, an organization dedicated to finding solutions to pollution. Just months after declaring a false “energy emergency,” the administration is moving to sell more American gas overseas, including to our competitors. It’s not only a disaster for the climate and our national security, but it will push American’s electricity bills through the roof. Energy prices are already skyrocketing. Electricity providers and their representatives are blaming regulators. Some elected officials, understandably under fire from their constituents, point the finger at greedy corporations. Meanwhile, apologists for fossil fuel companies are writing trendy think pieces putting the blame for high prices at the feet of green energy providers. The evidence for those claims are even thinner than the paper they’re printed on. There are plenty of factors at play that can explain rising energy costs. Some, like the huge demands placed on the grid by power thirsty data centers, crypto mining operations and AI are already widely known. But the role of LNG exports is not receiving nearly enough public scrutiny, especially since gas prices all but set electricity prices. While it’s been billed as “clean, American energy,” or “liquefied natural gas,” the product we’re talking about is a fossil fuel. It’s mostly methane, the greenhouse gas that traps 80 times more heat in the atmosphere than does carbon dioxide. Its liquefied form, which is pumped into massive supertanker ships and sold overseas, comes at an enormous cost, requiring massive outlays of energy to chill the fuel into a liquid form. It also harms our climate along every step of its journey as it leaks into the atmosphere from the well head, through the pipeline, to liquefaction, shipping and eventually