WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Monday, readers! Congress hit the ground running this week with more budget reconciliation discussions, as both the Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means committees have released the text of their portions of the megabill.

Callie and Maydeen kick things off by outlining some of the key provisions below. We’ll be following the mark-ups of both of these proposals throughout the rest of the week. 

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Plus, the Department of Energy is moving forward with the president’s deregulatory agenda by walking back 47 different climate and energy related regulations, aimed at supporting consumer choice. 

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.

HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS RELEASES RECONCILIATION TEXT: House Ways and Means Republicans unveiled legislation aimed at cutting clean energy tax credits established by the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. 

The committee’s legislative text released today includes terminating the IRA’s $7,500 tax credits for electric vehicles. It also terminates the commercial clean vehicle tax credits.

Also on the chopping block is the Clean Hydrogen Production 45V tax credit. The credit helps to promote domestic clean hydrogen production, creating a 10-year incentive.

Republicans are also phasing out the Clean Electricity Investment and Production Tax Credits, also known as technology-neutral credits, which offer tax credits for facilities producing and investing in renewable energy. The bill is also phasing out the Advanced Manufacturing Production tax credit aimed at bolstering clean energy manufacturing, while terminating any wind energy components.

The committee is set to mark up the bill tomorrow. 

ENERGY AND COMMERCE REPUBLICANS TAKE AIM AT CLIMATE FUNDS: Tomorrow, the House Energy and Commerce Committee is poised to take up its portion of the budget reconciliation package, rolling back billions of dollars worth of funding established by the IRA. 

The committee released the text of its legislative proposal late yesterday evening, outlining plans to cancel up to $6.5 billion in unspent funding from the Democrat-passed law alone. 

Canceling funds: The draft legislation would cancel grant money to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund program, a prime target of EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who has said it was mismanaged by the Biden administration. 

It also would repeal the “unobligated balance” of IRA funding from the DOE’s Loans Program Office. It’s unclear how much of the office’s funds are not obligated, meaning they can be pulled back with little challenge. Industry experts have warned that the move could essentially “eliminate” the office.

Hitting regulations: The proposal targets several IRA climate initiatives, including the latest corporate average fuel economy standards issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the EPA’s recent rule on multipollutant emissions standards for vehicles with model years of 2027 or later. Some programs, however, were not hit as hard as anticipated, including the Biden administration’s fee on excess methane emissions. The committee’s proposal pushes back compliance by 10 years to 2034. 

Permitting reform: House Republicans are also looking to build upon broader efforts to speed up the permitting process for fossil fuel energy projects by allowing developers to pay a fee for expedited reviews. 

The proposal suggests allowing DOE to deem a liquefied natural gas facility as a project in “the public interest” if applicants pay a million-dollar fee. Developers looking to secure permits for other natural gas projects can receive expedited permits from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission if they pay 1% of their expected cost of construction or $10 million.

ENERGY DEPARTMENT WALKS BACK DOZENS OF BIDEN-ERA APPLIANCE STANDARDS: The Department of Energy announced its largest deregulatory effort today, walking back 47 rules related to appliances, water, energy, and climate that the agency said were “driving up costs and lowering quality of life for the American people.” 

The details: Energy Secretary Chris Wright unveiled the deregulatory actions early this afternoon, saying they were in accordance with President Donald Trump‘s executive order signed last month aimed at removing “outdated regulations.”

“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we are bringing back common sense — slashing regulations meant to appease Green New Deal fantasies, restrict consumer choice and increase costs for the American people,” Wright said in a statement. 

The 47 deregulatory actions announced today include, but are not limited to:  

• Streamlining administrative procedures for importing and exporting natural gas 
• Rescinding regulations of loans for Minority Business Enterprises seeking DOE aid 
• Rescinding reporting requirements, certification, independent verification, and department review for voluntary greenhouse gas reporting
• Rescinding energy conservation standards for commercial ice makers, microwave ovens, and external power supplies
• Rescinding water use and conservation standards for washing machines and dishwashers 
• Rescinding design requirements for conventional stove tops and ovens 
• Rescinding efficiency standards for battery chargers and washing machines 

The dozens of actions also include several restrictions of regulations related to diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements for grant recipients, including those related to nondiscrimination on the basis of sex or age. 

Some reaction: The deregulatory decisions were swiftly met with opposition from environmentalists and clean energy advocates. Some have accused DOE of acting “illegally,” pointing to a 2004 federal appeals court decision that ruled the agency could not weaken efficiency standards after being finalized, due to the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987. 

“Every single standard they want to revoke here has been saving consumers or businesses far more than it costs. These plans are not a good deal for consumers at all,” Andrew deLaski, the executive director of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP), said in a statement. 

OIL UP ON CHINA TRADE AGREEMENT: Oil prices surged this morning after the United States and China announced a temporary trade agreement to lower tariffs, with both international and domestic benchmarks both trading above $60 a barrel. 

Just before 2 p.m. ET, Brent Crude had jumped by 1.99% and was priced at $65.18 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate had similarly increased by 2%, selling at around $62.24 per barrel. 

The deal: Over the weekend, U.S. and Chinese representatives met in Geneva to arrange for U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports to fall from 145% to 30% and China’s tariffs on U.S. imports to drop from 125% to 10%. The temporary suspension on most tariffs is expected to last 90 days.

CHINESE BATTERY GIANT SEEKS TO RAISE BILLIONS FOR EXPANSION: Chinese battery company Contemporary Amperex Technology or CATL plans to raise at least $4 billion to expand overseas, the Wall Street Journal reports. 

In a Hong Kong exchange filing, CATL said it would begin to accept investors orders today. The company plans to sell 117.89 million shares for a maximum price of 263.0 Hong Kong dollars each or $33.81, the WSJ wrote. 

CATL supplies batteries to various global companies, including Tesla, Ford, Honda, and Chinese start-ups. The company said there is some uncertainty in the market due to tariffs imposed by the U.S. 

“We cannot predict how tariff policies in various countries may further evolve or anticipate any potential impacts of subsequent developments in such policies on our business,” it said Monday.

CATL will use 90% of the net proceeds raised for its factory in Hungary. The rest will go towards working capital and other general purposes. 

EUROPEAN UNION CALLS ON CZECH REPUBLIC TO DELAY NUCLEAR DEAL: The European Commission is asking the Czech Republic to delay signing a nuclear contract with South Korea amid an investigation into foreign subsidies. 

The details: A commission spokesperson confirmed to Reuters on Monday that the executive branch of the European Union is looking into concerns regarding South Korea’s bid to build new nuclear power blocks in the Czech Republic, as the country seeks to replace its aging infrastructure. 

“We are raising concerns under the rules of the foreign subsidies regulation regarding the South Korean bidder,” the spokesperson said. “We are not at the stage where we are opening an in-depth investigation, and I would not pre-judge if we are going there or not.”

The temporary delay was reportedly driven by a complaint from French utility company EDF, which lost a bid for the work. The Czech Republic ultimately chose to go with South Korea’s KHNP, and the deal is expected to be worth $18 billion. 

Czech electricity firm CEZ had wished to sign contracts for the deal by May 7, and has said EDF’s complaints are speculative. CEZ subsidiary EDU II, which is planning to build the nuclear plant, recently said that the company believes the French bidder wants to ensure no nuclear power plant is built in the country at all, according to Reuters. 

A LOOK AHEAD:

May 13 The House Energy and Commerce Committee is poised to markup its portion of the reconciliation budget legislation. 

May 13 The House Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to markup its section of the reconciliation tax bill. 

May 13 The Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University is holding a webinar titled “The Impact of Canada’s Election on the Global Energy Transition.” 

May 14 The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is holding a hearing to consider several nominations including Jonathan Brightbill to serve as General Counsel of DOE, Tina Pierce to be the Chief Financial Office of DOE, Connor Prochaska to be director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency within DOE, and Ned Mamula to serve as director of the U.S. Geological Survey within the Department of Interior. 

May 14 The House Science Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee is scheduled to hold a hearing on NOAA’s transparency and trust in crisis.

May 14 EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is scheduled to appear before the Senate Appropriations Interior and Environment subcommittee to discuss the Fiscal Year 2026 budget.

May 15 Zeldin is also scheduled to appear before the House Appropriations Interior and Environment subcommittee to discuss the budget. 

May 15 Think tank GLOBSEC is holding a Critical Minerals Forum at the Credit Union House in Washington D.C., featuring remarks from Republican Reps. Jack Bergman of Michigan and Jim Baird of Indiana.  

May 15 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is holding its monthly open meeting. 

May 15 The House Natural Resources subcommittee on oversight and investigations is holding a hearing titled “Fix our Forests: How Improved Land Management Can Protect Communities in the Wildland-Urban Interface.”  

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