Ed. note: CNN’s January 22, 2026, headline–“Extreme winter storm threat sparks historic natural gas spike”–begs for the proverbial rest of the story, presented below by Allen Brooks at Energy Musings.
“For those of us who lived through Uri and are still paying for its cost, the uproar over last week’s gas price jump is somewhat laughable. Yes, gas prices jumped to a high of $5.28/Mcf. However, during Uri, spot gas prices soared to $23/Mcf, while power prices were capped at $9,000 per megawatt-hour (MWh).”
Yes, natural gas futures prices rose from $2.70 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) on Monday to close the week at $5.28, a jump of 96%. Just between the close of trading on Thursday and Friday’s close, the gas price rose by over 47%.…
“Venezuelan oil has been powering Cuba’s electricity grid, and the Trump administration may use the fuel issue to effect changes in the island-nation’s leadership.”
“More heavy oil from Venezuela will put pressure on Canada’s role as a supplier of heavy crude to the U.S. It may also pressure Saudi Arabia, which ships heavy oil to feed its refineries in the U.S.”
“Access to Venezuela’s substantial oil reserves is likely to put a cap on how high global oil prices might rise in the future….”
Little did we realize how interesting 2026’s energy market would become when we finished writing our January 3 Energy Musings, “Energy Finishes 2025 In 8th Place Out Of 11 Sectors.” Just a few hours after finishing and scheduling its publication, United States Special Forces and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, supported by military forces, mounted a military-style campaign to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.…
Ed. Note: The government-enabled on-grid wind and solar industries are on the downside of a political business cycle. The lesson for sustainable entrepreneurship is to meet underlying consumer demand, not rely on special favor from temporary political majorities.
Last Friday, the Daily Caller News Foundation broke an exclusive story that the U.S. had ordered a halt to construction on the offshore Revolution Wind Farm project. The article, “Trump Admin Kills Massive Offshore Wind Project,” announced the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (Department of Interior.
Revolution Wind is a 704-megawatt (MW), 65-turbine wind project located 15 miles south of Rhode Island’s Point Judith port and 32 miles southwest of Martha’s Vineyard. The capacity has been contracted under 20-year power-purchase agreements to utilities in Massachusetts (304 MW) and Rhode Island (400 MW).…