The massive storm expected this weekend is still approaching but high natural gas prices have already arrived. Throughout the week, prices have surged anywhere between 25 and 75 percent higher than the previous week. As grids across the country brace for major impacts to tens of millions of Americans, the importance of a balanced, divers fuel supply becomes all the more important in managing price shocks and keeping the lights on.

Coal demand in Southeast Asia is growing at a faster pace than anywhere else in the world, with demand expected to rise by more than 4 percent a year through the end of the decade, according to the International Energy Agency report. The numbers reflect the global reality around rising energy demands and the need for secure, reliable, affordable electricity.

And yesterday, during a Natural Resources Subcommittee hearing on deep sea mining, the partisan divide around new efforts to fast-track new seabed mining projects was evident. It's clearly an issue that will get a deeper look on the Hill and beyond.