A new report by Energy Ventures Analysis, released yesterday, found that, in 2025, coal generation served as an important buffer against energy inflation due to rising natural gas prices, electricity demand growth and infrastructure-related costs. Coal generation delivered between $30 and $40 billion in total savings, lowering Americans' power bills an average of $150 per household.

The Trump administration is planning this week to repeal the 2009 "endangerment finding," which is a finding that serves as the legal basis for federal greenhouse-gas regulation. The final rule will reportedly remove the regulatory requirements around federal greenhouse-gas emission standards for motor vehicles. The rule won't apply to power plants but it could provide the rationale for rolling back regulations that do.

Finally, looking at the administration's plans to invest in mineral assets abroad, unrest in Pakistan's largest mineral-rich province is highlighting the challenges of doing so. In December, the administration said it would invest $1.25 billion in the region as part of its strategy to counter China's global minerals dominance, but recent militant attacks on civilian and government targets in at least nine towns have now made efforts to extract minerals there shaky at best. Just one more reason to support domestic mining, here at home.