Monday, 21 September 2026

South Korea is considering a plan to hold back up to 10 coal-fired units from the regular electricity market and designate them as "security power sources" available only as reserve capacity during emergencies.

Under the proposal, those units would sit outside normal market dispatch and be called on for supply-demand balancing and grid stability when needed.

The country currently has 21 coal units, totaling 19.1 GW, with design lives extending beyond 2040.

EU finance ministers meeting in Dublin are weighing a windfall tax on energy companies, with price volatility cited as a drag on the bloc's economic outlook, according to Euronews.

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil is pressing the European Commission to table windfall tax models in time for the next Economic and Finance Council meeting in October, Euronews reported.

EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said several member states had put the initiative forward and that it formed part of the discussions. Dombrovskis added that member states can already implement windfall profit taxes at the national level, and that the Commission is ready to support them by sharing best practices.

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation has approved a debt facility of up to $414.2 million for Global Atomic's Dasa uranium project in Niger.

The package breaks down into a term loan facility of up to $397.4 million and a $16.8 million cost overrun facility, according to Global Atomic's disclosure of the DFC board decision.

The funds have not been fully disbursed. Global Atomic said several conditions must still be met before the financing can be drawn, including securing a viable export route for yellowcake, extending the project's mining permits, and reaching agreements with the Nigerien government.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has launched one-time energy rebate checks of up to USD 200 for eligible households, part of a USD 1 billion energy relief effort, according to reporting on the initiative.

Bruce Blakeman vowed to cut New York utility rates in half if elected, pledging to sign an emergency order lifting the state's ban on fracking.

An analysis by the New York Independent System Operator attributes pressure on utility rates to natural gas prices, aging infrastructure and tightening power supplies.

The fracking prohibition Blakeman is targeting was first enacted by executive order under then-Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2014, and the state legislature codified the ban into law in 2020.

Federal prosecutors in New York filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking approximately USD 61 million in cryptocurrency generated by black-market sales of sanctioned Iranian oil, according to Event Registry reporting.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York lodged the complaint on September 14. Prosecutors said the proceeds were intended to finance Iran's government and military components, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The complaint alleges that Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale shifted Iranian oil proceeds through Binance accounts in the United Arab Emirates.

France is working with Iraq and Jordan on a pipeline project to move Iraqi oil and gas to European markets, according to French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron made the remarks days after Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zaidi visited Paris for talks on energy and investment.

Macron said the initiative is intended to secure an alternative energy supply for Europe, citing the Middle East crisis as a factor disrupting conventional shipping routes and lifting oil and gas costs.

Iraqi official media said the planned pipeline would carry Iraqi energy through Jordan to European markets.

Iran said it hit the Togo-flagged oil tanker Trend in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday night, citing what it called an illegal attempt by the vessel to transit the waterway. The state broadcaster attributed the account to the Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The Associated Press said it could not immediately confirm Iran's report.