"What Does Energy Look Like Over The Next Four Years?" With Anne Bradbury, Bill Flores and Maria Korsnick

Happy Veterans Day to all who served and Happy Remembrance Day for our British, Canadian, and Australian friends. Today (and every day), we thank you and your families for your service and sacrifice.   With the election behind us and the transition of a new administration on the horizon, we brought together three esteemed friends of the firm and previous COBT guests for a Special Edition of COBT. We wanted to brainstorm with them what happens next in energy policy-making.   We were honored to host Anne Bradbury, CEO of the American Exploration and Production Council (AXPC), Bill Flores, Vice Chairman of ERCOT, former Congressman, and Veriten Senior Advisor, and Maria Korsnick, CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). Each of these leaders has been a strong advocate for energy in Washington and brings deep insight into the complexities of energy legislation. Arjun Murti, Brett Rampal and I were thrilled to join and hear their immediate reactions and perspectives on what the incoming administration could mean for the future of energy.   In our discussion, we explore the implications of the Trump Administration for energy policy, expecting broadly that the new administration will focus on energy reliability, affordability and infrastructure. We discuss potential changes to the Inflation Reduction Act to make it more technology-agnostic and more supportive of dispatchable energy sources, including nuclear and natural gas. There was a lot of speculation about “leaving the carrots but getting rid of the sticks” and also “the use of a scalpel and not a sledgehammer.” Bill shares insights on critical Congressional dynamics, how to handle any potential obstacles the current administration may put in place before leaving office, and the importance for energy policymakers to work on areas of agreement across the aisle to ensure truly durable energy policies. Anne emphasizes that in terms of environmental regulations, the US oil and gas industry is willing and able to show that they are the cleanest system globally already, and that they are ready to meet heightened regulatory standards, but that these standards need to be resilient and realistic to avoid constant swings with each administration. Maria highlights federal policy that NEI is supporting to incentivize initial first-of-a-kind builds as well as needed policy reforms to strengthen grid capacity and streamline permitting.   We go on to cover the potential influence of Elon Musk if he assumes a role in the new administration, the importance of ending the partisan divide in energy policy, the need to prioritize American energy dominance across both traditional and new energy technologies, the value of experienced career staff in DC to ensure effective policy implementation, and much more. Overall, we are feeling optimistic for American energy in the next administration as the change provides an opportunity to keep what’s good but change what’s not. There were many references in our discussion to “not throw the baby out with the bathwater.” We are immensely grateful to Anne, Bill and Maria for their friendship and for joining us. We hope you find the conversation as interesting and insightful as we did.   God bless our veterans, and our best to you all!