Texas power use hits 3rd record this week in heat wave
(Reuters) -Demand for power in Texas hit a record high on Thursday...
(Reuters) -Demand for power in Texas hit a record high on Thursday for the third time this week and the tenth time this summer as homes and businesses cranked up air conditioners to escape a lingering heat wave.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the grid for more than 26 million customers representing about 90% of the state's power load, said it has enough power to meet current demand.
ERCOT said usage hit a preliminary 85,435 megawatts (MW)Thursday, which topped the record high of 83,961 MW hit on Wednesday.
New Canadian clean electricity rules would allow some use of fossil fuels
OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada on Thursday released long-awaited draft clean electricity regulations designed...
OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada on Thursday released long-awaited draft clean electricity regulations designed to create a net-zero emissions power grid by 2035, and said some continued use of fossil fuels would be allowed.
According to the 185-page set of draft regulations, many utility companies said they could not reliably generate power beyond 2035 without some use of natural gas or liquid fuel.
Utilities will therefore be able to use a fossil fuel plant for 20 years, starting from when it was commissioned, as long as they agree to tight emissions limits.
The energy sector is off to a mixed-to-higher start, supported by strength in the crude complex, but pressured by modest losses in the major equity futures.The broader market futures retreated this morning after July’s PPI print came in hotter than expected. The producer price index, rose more than expected last month, advancing 0.3%. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected an increase of 0.2%.
WTI and Brent crude oil futures are higher this morning and are set to post gains for their seventh-consecutive week, following optimistic demand forecasts from OPEC+ and the IEA which overshadowed demand concerns from China. Last night, OPEC+ said it expects global oil demand to rise by 2.25 million bpd in 2024, as the firm anticipates China’s economic growth will boost oil consumption. This morning, the IEA warned global inventories could decrease further throughout the end of 2023, which would add to the tailwinds fueling oil’s recent rally.
Natural gas futures have erased earlier gains and are now lower on a larger-than-expected storage build. The EIA weekly storage report (week ended 4-Aug) showed a build of +29 Bcf vs consensus +24 Bcf and vs 5-yr average of +46 Bcf.
Energy Dept. doles out up to $1.2B for 2 DAC projects
The Energy Department is awarding up to $1.2 billion in grants to two proposed direct air capture hubs...
The Energy Department is awarding up to $1.2 billion in grants to two proposed direct air capture hubs in the US, one of which is from an Occidental Petroleum unit in Texas and the other led by the Battelle Memorial Institute and partners in Louisiana. "These hubs are going to help us prove out the potential of this game-changing technology so that others can follow in their footsteps," said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
