Daily on Energy: Happy Election Day!

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Election Day, readers! If you haven’t gone out to vote yet today, be sure to hit the polls before they close, typically between 7-8 p.m. Not sure what time they close near you? Check out this complete breakdown here. 🗳️🇺🇲Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner energy and environment writers Callie Patteson (@CalliePatteson) and Maydeen Merino (@MaydeenMerino). Email cpatteson@washingtonexaminer dot com or mmerino@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.As Americans head to the polls today, the average price of gasoline under President Donald Trump’s second term has risen to the highest of any presidential administration. For Trump’s second term, the nationwide average price of regular gas topped $3.46 a gallon today, just slightly exceeding President Joe Biden’s average of $3.457 per gallon, according to weekly data released this morning by the Energy Information Administration.When entering office, Trump vowed to slash gasoline prices to below $2 per gallon, but prices have remained high following the wars in Iran and Ukraine.GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan cautioned that comparing gas prices under the current administration with Biden’s full four-year term may not provide an accurate picture.However, De Haan told Maydeen that it has been a significantly difficult year for drivers, as gas prices have never been this high for this long in any given year.“Even in 2022, they hit five bucks, yes, which is the all-time record. But within a week, they had fallen back below that, even this time in 2022, prices were lower,” De Haan said.“So, what’s a lot different this year is that we’ve been stuck with these elevated prices. We’ve been stuck in a situation that the administration hasn’t got us out of. There haven’t really been a lot of diplomatic efforts to change that, and that’s why we are where we are,” he added.Affordability has become a top-of-mind issue for many voters as they face rising costs for groceries, fuel, and utilities.Today’s national average gasoline and diesel prices are the highest they have ever been on an election day, with gasoline at $4.14 and diesel at $6.28 a gallon. De Haan noted that gas prices could play a role in how Americans will be voting today.“Voters have not really gotten much of a break,” De Haan said.“I do think that there’s going to be a lot of people that remember that for the past eight months, gas prices have been very high, diesel prices hit records,” he said. “Fuel prices are a very, very visible issue, and even just driving to the polls, people are going to be reminded, ‘hey, this has been a pretty record-setting year for fuel prices.’”As of today, Americans have spent $150 billion more on gasoline and diesel since March 1 compared to the same time last year, De Haan wrote. He noted that the total cost is at $149.623 billion and rising. All the rest: OIL PRICES EXTEND MIDTERMS FALL: Traders appear to remain optimistic about a deal between the U.S. and Iran, as oil prices continued to fall today. Trump touted the dip in prices yesterday as it coincided with the midterm elections, in a last-ditch effort to encourage voters to stick with a Republican government.Just before 2:30 p.m., Brent crude had fallen 1.05% and was selling at $103.67 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate also dropped 0.40% and was priced at $95.99 a barrel.The Trump administration has insisted that oil and gasoline prices will come down even further soon, providing relief for American consumers.Earlier today, Energy Secretary Chris Wright claimed that the best cure for high prices is also “high prices,” as the premiums would encourage producers to increase production, adding more supply to the market, and thereby lowering prices.“Gasoline and diesel prices peaked in September, they’re on their way down, and they will continue down meaningfully in the months ahead,” he said on Fox Business this morning.KEY SENATE DEMOCRAT STICKS TO HIS GUNS ON PERMITTING REFORM: Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, one of the architects of the bipartisan Senate permitting proposal, isn’t caving to other Democrats pushing to punt the issue to the next Congress.During an event held by the National Association of Manufacturers in Rhode Island yesterday, Whitehouse said he “vehemently disagrees” with members looking to delay, according to a transcript of his remarks obtained by Daily on Energy alum Josh Siegel.“The idea that we should come back and fixate on this bill, go backwards, lose all that time, and then face a situation where we may not be able to get the bill passed any longer, or the president might be so grumpy that he won’t sign it any longer,” Whitehouse said, reportedly calling the strategy “ill advised.”He went on to call the bipartisan legislation – BAAJA – a “very valuable bird,” due to the carbon emissions reductions associated with its provisions.MARITIME INDUSTRY ASKS TRUMP TO ALLOW JONES ACT WAIVER TO EXPIRE: The American Maritime Partnership is calling on the president to allow the Jones Act waiver to expire.The administration’s Jones Act waiver is set to expire on Nov. 15. It was first issued in March as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to lower gas prices elevated by the war in Iran. It has since been extended twice.The waiver allows for refineries to use foreign-flagged ships to transport fuel between U.S. ports. However, the American Maritime Partnership has argued that the waiver undercuts American maritime jobs. In a letter to the president, the group says the waiver has not helped to lower fuel costs.“After nearly eight months of Jones Act waivers allowing domestic cargo to be moved by foreign vessels, gasoline remains above $4 per gallon nationally and diesel above $6 per gallon,” the letter reads.TALIBAN TO ATTEND UN CLIMATE CONFERENCE: The United Nations’ annual climate conference is set to start early next week in Turkey, attracting high-level officials from across the world – including those with the Taliban.The Associated Press confirmed today that the Taliban will be sending some officials to COP31 next week as observers. This marks the second time that the Taliban has attended the summit since retaking power in Afghanistan.The Taliban’s government is not formally recognized by most members of the UN, and it has not been allowed to claim a seat at the UN General Assembly. Taliban officials are still able to attend COP31 as observers, meaning they can sit in on meetings and discussions but hold no formal position in negotiations regarding climate financing or emissions mitigation.It’s worth noting that Afghanistan is widely considered one of the countries that is most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, such as extreme heat and severe drought.According to the Associated Press, government officials say it is crucial for Afghanistan to have representation at the global climate conference and access to climate financing.However, as the Taliban has imposed severe restrictions on women’s education and rights to move freely, critics have said the new government shouldn’t be recognized on the international stage.“They don’t keep their promises, they don’t include women, they don’t include children in their programs, so how can you actually represent a country where you do not even include or recognize the existence of 50% of the population?” Fawzia Koofi, a former Afghan lawmaker and women’s rights activist, told the Associated Press.A quick note: The Trump administration has not yet publicly said if it will attend COP31 next week. The administration did not send any high level officials to last year’s conference in Brazil. The U.S. also officially withdrew from the Paris Agreement in January of this year.LG ENERGY SOLUTION PLANS TO BOOST BATTERY OUTPUT IN NORTH AMERICA AMID AI DEMAND: South Korea’s LN Energy Solution plans to boost production capacity for energy storage batteries in North America in response to the growing demand from artificial intelligence.Bloomberg reported that the company plans to have more than 50 gigawatt-hours of battery storage system capacity by the end of this year. It also plans to increase output beyond 70 gigawatt-hours next year.HOW ONE CITY IN VENEZUELA IS FEELING THE OIL REVIVAL: While announcements and agreements regarding reviving Venezuela’s oil industry have been made in Caracas, the effects of the scramble to invest are being felt in a smaller city called El Tigre.Bloomberg reported this week that the region has seen a burst of activity in recent months that has attracted private jets and increased local rents.El Tigre, located about six hours southeast of Caracas, has been a hub for oil production in Venezuela since the 1930s, due to its prime location along the crude-rich Orinoco Belt.As the Trump administration has worked with the Venezuelan government to make it safer and more economically friendly to operate in the country, foreign companies have begun to move in. Bloomberg reported that Colombian firm GeoPark, Brazilian company Alvorada Oil & Gas, and U.S. oil services firm Weatherford International Plc. are among those bringing staff to El Tigre.This has led to completely full hotels, packed restaurants, and soaring rents. For some furnished townhouses, landlords are charging as much as $4,500 for monthly rent in the city. One year ago, the same homes rented for about $1,500, according to the report.While there’s more traffic, locals told Bloomberg that they haven’t seen much improvement in daily life – such as steady electricity and running water.ICYMI – BYD OUTSOLD THE U.S. ELECTRIC VEHICLE MARKET IN ONE QUARTER: China’s BYD sold more than 300,000 electric vehicles last month, which is more than the U.S. sold in the third quarter.BYD sold 490,168 new electric vehicles in October, up 11% compared to last year, Electrek reported. It noted that BYD’s battery electric vehicles drove the growth, selling 305,743 units, up 37% year-over-year.Kelley Blue Book estimated that just over 262,500 EVs were sold in the U.S. during the third quarter.RUNDOWNThe Guardian North America’s most widely distributed game bird is under threatNew York Times Old, Polluting Jet Engines Are Being Scavenged to Power Data CentersBloomberg How a Democrat Win Could Frustrate Trump’s Energy AgendaReuters ‘Fuel of the poor’ LPG soars in Pakistan, forcing rickshaw drivers to cut meals