Energy Secretary Granholm To Testify To Congress

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is shortly due to deliver testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee on President Biden's FY2025 budget request for the Department of Energy. Jill Hruby, Under Secretary of the National Nuclear Security Administration, will also provide testimony. LIVESTREAM

• The hearing comes after Granholm confirmed in a statement yesterday that the Biden administration intends to release around 1 million barrels of gasoline from reserves to bring down pump prices in the US Northeast ahead of driving season. The release will be undertaken in 100,000-barrel increments.
• Granholm said the DOE would, “strategically releasing this reserve in between Memorial Day and July 4^th,” to make sure “sufficient supply flows to the tri-state and northeast at a time hardworking Americans need it the most.”
• The Hill notes: “Congress mandated the sale of the gasoline in the Northeast reserve as part of a bill to keep the government open earlier this year. Once the barrels are sold, the legislation directs the administration to close the reserve, which was created after Superstorm Sandy.”
• The move is likely to attract Republican criticism similar to that which followed releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 2022. The GOP argued that the SPR releases were a political ploy to bolster Democrats ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.