President-elect Donald Trump vowed to declare a national energy emergency as soon as he takes office on Monday, months after promising voters that he would cut electricity and gasoline prices in half during his first year in office.
“To achieve rapid reductions in energy costs, I will declare a national emergency so that we can dramatically increase energy production, power generation and supply,” Trump said. tell supporters at rallies Last August in Porterville, Michigan. “Starting from day one, I will authorize new drilling, new pipelines, new refineries, new power plants, new reactors, and we will cut red tape.”
The president-elect reiterated as recently as December 22 that he intends to “Declaring a national energy emergencyOn his first day in office, he vowed to issue a series of executive orders reversing Biden administration policies on natural gas exports, drilling and emissions standards.
Trump plans to build a National Energy Commission Led by North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who was chosen to lead the Interior Department. Burgum said during a Senate hearing on his nomination this week that he expected the committee would be established through an executive order.
It’s unclear whether the emergency declaration will be largely symbolic or invoke broader powers beyond the energy executive order Trump is widely expected to issue on Monday. The president-elect’s transition team did not respond to a request for comment.
“My expectation is that this will be a verbal declaration of an energy emergency,” said Mike Summers, president of the American Petroleum Institute, an oil industry lobbying group. “When you bundle the executive orders together, that’s how the energy response is going to be.” The answer to emergencies.”
Glenn Schwartz, director of energy policy at consulting firm Rapidan Energy, said Trump could invoke several emergency energy-related regulations. Schwartz said federal law generally defines emergencies loosely, giving the president broad discretion to use them as he sees fit.
Schwartz said Trump is likely to face little resistance from the courts because they are unwilling to challenge the president’s decisions related to national security.
“The end result is that even if Trump expands his emergency powers in an unprecedented way, it’s unclear whether the courts will step in to block any resulting action,” the analyst said.
possible emergency authorities
Schwartz told clients in a research note released Thursday that there is clear precedent for Trump invoking emergency powers to boost power generation and expand the nation’s fuel supply. Authorities using these powers will waive certain energy-related environmental and pollution rules.
The analyst said Trump may issue fuel exemptions under the Clean Air Act, allowing gasoline that violates federal air quality standards to enter the market. He said presidents often use such exemptions whenever they need to expand the nation’s gasoline supply and control prices.
Trump can also invoke federal powers act Schwartz said power plants were ordered to operate at maximum capacity and not comply with pollution limits. The Secretary of Energy can invoke the act in times of war or in emergencies caused by sudden increases in demand or power shortages.
Schwartz said the provision has been rarely used since World War II, mostly when extreme weather overwhelms power plants.
PJM Interconnection, the largest power grid operator in the United States, warned that, power shortage Because coal-fired power plants are being retired faster than new capacity can come online. PJM operates the power grid in all or parts of 13 mid-Atlantic, Midwestern and Southern states.
The situation is likely to become more serious as the technology industry builds energy-intensive data centers to support artificial intelligence applications and power demand increases significantly.
The first Trump administration considered invoking the act in 2018 to order utilities to buy two years of electricity from coal and nuclear plants at risk of closing. The then-government eventually abandoned the idea after facing opposition from industry.
Trump can also choose Wider regulations Schwartz said this allows the president to suspend pollution laws for industrial facilities, power plants, refineries, steel plants, chemical plants and other industrial facilities during emergencies.
Schwartz said federal law provides less support for presidents mandating new products. The analyst said Trump can direct federal agencies to conduct expedited environmental reviews of energy projects he supports such as pipelines, but the president cannot use emergency powers to circumvent basic environmental policies such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act.
Anticipated Executive Order
Oil industry lobbyists at the American Petroleum Institute expect Trump to issue a series of energy-related orders as soon as Monday.
Administration expected to issue order lifting Biden team’s suspension New LNG exports facilities, Summers said. The president-elect may also try to overturn President Biden’s recent decision to ban drilling in 625 million acres of federal waters. Trump’s authority to do so has been controversial, and such an order would likely end up in court.
“We believe he has the ability to turn this around and we will defend that in court,” Summers said.
Summers said the industry expects the president will also direct the Interior Department to increase oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico. The Biden administration has released smallest lease in history The program will last until 2029.
These decisions are not expected to have any direct impact on production. For the sixth consecutive year, the United States has been the world’s largest oil and natural gas producer, surpassing Saudi Arabia and Russia. CEO of Exxon Corporation and Chevron Make it clear that production decisions are based on market conditions, not who is in the White House.
“You can lead horses to water, but you can’t make them drink,” Schwartz said. “He can give them all the resources they need to drill, but I haven’t seen any indication that he can force them to get it out of the ground.”
Trump is expected to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement. Executive orders targeting vehicle emissions and fuel economy standards are also expected.
Still, Summers said, only so much can be done through executive orders, which often must go through a rulemaking process that takes time. He said the oil industry is more focused on pushing for more lasting policy changes in the Republican-controlled Congress.
“There’s not much they can do on day one other than direct federal agencies to fulfill their energy leadership commitments,” Summers said.
