DC Circuit Upholds Biden Ban on Gas Furnaces, Water Heaters
We are SO tired of activist judges appointed by Obama/Biden ruling against the will of the majority (and against the Constitution). It just happened again earlier this week. Before leaving office, the Biden Department of Energy (DOE) implemented new regulations that essentially ban gas-fired furnaces and water heaters (see Bidenistas Attack Your Gas Furnace with New DOE Regulations and In Parting Shot, Bidenistas Ban New Water Heaters that Use NatGas). Those regulations were appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Circuit). On Tuesday, two Obama-appointed (wildly left) Democrat judges from the D.C. Circuit voted to uphold the Biden gas-fired appliance bans. One Trump-appointed judge voted against the Biden bans. Read More “DC Circuit Upholds Biden Ban on Gas Furnaces, Water Heaters”
In January 2023, Ohio House Bill (HB) 507 became law with the signature of Gov. Mike DeWine (see 
Following some intense conversations between President Trump and New York Governor Kathy Hochul earlier this year, she caved (according to the White House) and agreed to allow two long-stalled pipeline projects—the Constitution and NESE—to get built in NY in return for Trump allowing her to continue to sink $5 billion into an offshore wind project (see 
Yesterday, the Pennsylvania House Environmental and Natural Resource Protection Committee (the House has a one-Democrat majority) held a hearing on a proposal by Penn America to locate a 1 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet a day) LNG natural gas export facility in the City of Chester, Delaware County. The hearing was hosted by Rep. Carol Kazeeme (D-Delaware) and was exclusively attended by Democrats who were there to bash the project. There was no “How can we make this better?” There was only, “No way, no how, go to hell.” That’s the new Democrat Party and its political “leaders.” 
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is a carbon tax scheme. The RGGI tax is supposed to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by gas- and coal-fired power generators. The intent is to force fossil fuel power generators out of business. That’s what RGGI is designed to do, all in the name of reducing CO2. However, the only thing it accomplishes is to drive electricity prices higher. A new study from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (full copy below) finds that every state that belongs to RGGI has higher electricity prices than Pennsylvania. And each of those RGGI states saw their prices jump more over the past five years than the national average. 
The U.S. oil and natural gas sector operates on a drilling treadmill. As production from existing wells rapidly declines—a trend exacerbated by the faster decline rates of prolific horizontal (shale) wells—operators are forced to drill new wells to maintain current output. Since 2010, however, new hydrocarbon production in the Lower 48 states has been robust enough to not only offset these significant losses but also increase overall production levels. The U.S. Energy Information Administration published a post yesterday explaining the shale drilling “treadmill” we find ourselves on. 
In June, EQT Corp. agreed to pay $167.5 million to investors who claimed the company overstated the benefits of its $6.7 billion merger with Rice Energy (see 
In February 2024, members of the South Carolina Public Service Commission approved a proposed project to build a 1,020-megawatt (MW) gas-fired power plant in the state’s Lowcountry, in Colleton County (see 
Hell has officially frozen over. New York Governor Kathy Hochul is seeking to revise the state’s 2019 Climate Act, recognizing that its mandates for a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 are financially unsustainable for New Yorkers and have become a major election issue due to rapidly rising energy costs. This move follows a court ruling compelling the state to either change the law or issue the “infeasible” regulations by a February 2026 deadline, a task the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) had previously avoided due to the “extraordinary and damaging costs” it would impose. The law’s implementation is further complicated by state electric power “plans” that rely on non-existent technology, highlighting the impossibility of meeting the 2030 target and setting the stage for a significant political battle as the law finally hits an economic wall. But that’s not all… 
Marcellus/Utica natural gas production is rebounding in November, increasing by about 700 MMcf/d to an average of 35.5 Bcf/d recently, as drillers react to rising in-basin pricing and tightening regional fundamentals due to higher seasonal demand. This increase signifies an easing of the production shut-ins carried out during the third quarter when loose supply-demand dynamics pushed prices, which averaged $1.40-$2.97/MMBtu, to an average of below $2/MMBtu on more than a third of days. 
AltaGas is a Canada-based corporation that owns and operates both midstream (pipeline) and utilities businesses. AltaGas is a minority owner of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), which stretches from Wetzel County, West Virginia, to Pittsylvania County, Virginia. AltaGas issued a press release yesterday stating that it has decided to continue owning its minority stake in MVP (a 10% ownership stake) and, instead of selling its stake to raise capital, will issue new common stock to raise $400 million. The company will not only retain its ownership stake in the original MVP, but also its stake in expanding MVP by another 600 MMcf/d (called MVP Boost) and in extending MVP into North Carolina (called MVP Southgate). 
Deep River Data, a company with connections to the cryptocurrency industry, wants to drill for natural gas in Lee County, North Carolina. However, production from the well would not be used to power crypto mining, but instead to fuel an AI data center. If approved, the project would be the first commercial well drilled into the Triassic Basin, a natural gas repository underlying North Carolina and other Eastern Seaboard states. The well that is planned is conventional, not shale, so it involves no (or very little) fracking. 
North Dakota’s regulatory framework is a model of simplicity. Companies pay a modest $100 fee for drilling permits, compared to $12,500 in Pennsylvania, and typically receive approval in 20 to 30 days. That efficiency has proven pivotal since 2010, when horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing significantly expanded the Bakken Formation’s potential for commercial-scale production. Of course, there’s a big difference between PA and ND—companies drill for oil in ND and natural gas in PA. So it’s not like a driller would say, “Screw it, we’ll leave PA and go drill in ND where it’s easier, faster, and cheaper.” However, drillers can/are leaving PA for Ohio and West Virginia, where it’s easier, faster, and cheaper. We bring you this masterclass on how ND makes drilling better, so perhaps, just perhaps, someone at the PA DEP (and the politicians involved in approving permit fees) will wake up and improve the experience in the Keystone State. 
In an announcement issued yesterday, the PJM Interconnection electrical grid forecasts adequate power supplies to meet this winter’s expected conditions, with 180,800 megawatts (MW) of operational capacity available to serve a record-high forecasted peak demand of approximately 145,700 MW. Despite this positive outlook, the grid operator warns that reserve margins are tightening, dropping to 7,500 MW, because electricity demand is growing faster than the addition of new generation. 
The NYMEX futures price for natural gas was a rocket ship over the past two weeks. The NYMEX price closed at $4.1240/MMBtu on Friday, breaking the $4 barrier barely a month after we struggled to break the $3 barrier. In October, the NYMEX front-month contract rose an astounding 82.10 cents per MMBtu, or 25%. In one month! October was the largest one-month gain since August 2022, and the largest one-month percentage gain since February 2025. Zooming out a bit, the NYMEX price was up $1.127 or 38% over the last two months. However, spot prices (at least in the Marcellus/Utica) are more of a mixed bag.