Trump’s administration has Eliminated or conceived critical data In dozens of federal agencies. Now the actions of the administration are entering the new sphere: the energy industry.
For decades, the Energy Information Administration, an independent agency located inside the Energy Department, has presented important reports on everything from oil and gas to the future of alternative energy. EIA data relies on the heads of the oil company and government politicians, the “Gold Standard” data, Daniel Ergin, the deputy chairman of the S&P Global and EMINence Grise in the world. No less source than Project 2025 described AIU as historically “independent and impartial analysis”.
Last month, EIA released its signature report: Annual Energy for the United States. To a large extent, based on data collected during the Joe Biden administration, the report predicted rapid growth of alternative energy and decreased in American dependence on coal, oil and natural gas. Representatives of the agency feared that these results would be engaged in supporters of “Drills, Baby, Drill” in the Trump administration, according to many AUA sources. Therefore instead of promoting the publication of the report from Hourly broadcast And the PowerPoint presentation that shows key conclusions, as in recent years, the agency has released it without it. And in the late stage EIA was issued an analytical story – then 53 pages in draft – that is usually The central part of the report. Instead, the agency posted links to hundreds of tables and graphs filled with data Explanation on seven pages His methods.
This did not stop the energy department in Slightly conclusions. The press release on the same day when the report was published, the spokesman of the Department of the Attacks on the AEA report for the “catastrophic way for the production of US energy within the Baden administration” did not reflect Trump’s changes to “ensuring the future of America.
Now the EIA has been privately informed by the staff that he is rejecting his publication to keep a close eye on international energy prospects for 2025. Previous publication The international worldview, which was released every two years, contained 70 pages, which detail about global trends. Paradox: This will leave the field open equivalent to publication From the Paris International Energy Agency, which is accused of conservatives bending their forecasts promote climate change goals. (Unlike the US Agency, whose forecasts only take into account the officially accepted policy, international includes some politicians that have not been accepted and considered “swift”.)
Y en April 16 is an internal letter Announcing the cancellation of an international report, which was not previously reported, Angelina Laros, an assistant administrator in the AUA energy analysis officer, has accused of leaving so many employees. More than 100 of 350 AIA employees remained As a result of firing or resignation, as a result of the fork “fork on the road” the government’s efficiency department Elon Musk. “At this point, you can assume that we will not release IEO this year,” she wrote. “This was a difficult solution based on the loss of key resources.”
In the same memory, Larose ordered “all practical effort” before even more EIA analysts went to “try to keep as much institutional knowledge” about models and procedures used to develop an international report.
Not the publication of this report is considered as the following. Amy Maine Jafe, a well -known energy consultant and professor of research by the University of New York, named EIA reports and analysis necessary. “These are world markets,” she said. “The only way to find out what policy is working or not is the accurate EIA data. All benefit from this analysis, regardless of whether you are in the private sector or in the public sector.”
EIA was created almost half a century ago, against the backdrop of energy crises in the 1970s to decide what became an urgent need: to collect and report objective data on energy production and consumption. Its usual reports of messages monitors prices for oil and gasoline, electricity levels, export of natural gas and crude oil, fuel consumption, wind and solar energy production, coal production and nuclear plants.
The US annual projects in the US long -term trends based on multiple scripts are usually given a detailed analysis that discusses key data from data. In 2025, his basic “Reference” is projected to work through the laws and rules operating in December 2024, before the efforts of the Trump administration to promote fossil fuels. In addition to eight “side -effects” based on variations of economic growth, pricing and energy supplies, the EAU also model two “Alternative Policy” scenarios. These predicted consequences from the elimination of the laws and rules of the Baden era, which reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants and increase the adoption of electric cars.
According to the content of the project, which received the propublica, the deleted story emphasized the forecasts in the benchmark, indicating that increased demand for electricity will be satisfied by 2050, “mainly on generation from renewable sources”; that “coal generation falls to zero”; And that in the household consumption of oil and natural gas will “decrease”.
The decision to conduct the traditional explanatory story of the report was announced by EIA staff in the domestic e -mail on March 10, after the document was largely completed after months of work. “Once the front office is given (EIA), we change the transmission to the material that will be released this year,” the Larose Administrator wrote. “We will not release the story as it is now written, and we will not hold an event.”
Littlement of the analytical section has left readers to sort the data for itself. Joseph Decarolis, who held the post of administrator EIA at Biden and is now an engineering professor of North Carolina, named the annual Outlook “Extremely important. It is important to see the results, interpret themAnd explain your audience that you think there is an understanding. “
EIA staff said they believed that the changes were made of fear that the focus of the unwanted conclusions and forecasts will make the Trump’s goal. “There was an concern that any story we have outlined would be considered ideological,” said Emily Shal, EIA statistics, which worked on the US report. Another EIA employee commented: “Less people were crazy when we just threw off the numbers.”
Asked about the decision, the EIA press -secretary Chris Higinbate said that the agency’s management has allocated the analysis because “decided” decided the most important prioritizing to get our AEO results for the public as soon as we could rather to complete the written analysis. ” Loop ”.
As for the EIA international report, Higiginbate said: “We still strive to maintain our long-term energy modeling opportunities.” He claimed that the reduction of employees would not threaten the agency’s work. “We strive to meet AIA quality standards,” he said, “and we will not publish any data and analysis that does not meet these standards.”
Meanwhile, EIA has canceled or postponed other data reports and projects. These steps, combined with shocks and departures, devastated morality, according to modern and former EIA staff.
Shol was among those who fought with Tumult. After the completion of the Mathematics Doctor, the 28 -year -old Shal joined EIA as statistics in June 2024, working with Michigan, and is expected to remain in the agency for years. Instead, she was one of the about 30 test staff, which were abruptly stopped on February 13, just a few weeks in the new administration. A lawsuit that disputes shooting in six agencies filed by a union provided by government workers, pushed the federal judge to order their restoration, and Shal returned to AUA in mid -March.
“Everyone has been experiencing a month of torture,” she said Propublica. Employees dealt with chaos, uncertainty and cessation fears. In early April, Shal accepted a new postponement of resignation with plans to go on April 19.
On April 11, a few hours before the northern term for the resignation program, acting administrator EIA, who presided at the meeting of all hands with the main deputy, where he read the prepared statement in which he called on the employees to accept the proposal. Then both executives gave confidence that they did a “great job”, defending the agency at a meeting with Dogel officials, which were sure to treat them all “properly”, according to the four people who attended the “All Hands” meeting.
Shal was angry. After the session ended, she knocked out two chiefs, and then shared it with everyone who still remained in the EIA. “It doesn’t matter what we do and will treat us just like all other agencies: with contempt,” she wrote. “Shame on you for the fact that you have fallen into the queue and refused without noticeable efforts to fight. The shame for what you are, who is allegedly leading in the dark. Shake that you have betrayed the missions delivered to us by Congress and selling the American people.”
The following Monday, Shal was summoned to a virtual meeting with her leader, where she was presented with an official letter of reprimand for her “non -professional and disrespectful letter”, as well as in the second letter, which reported that she was placed on an administrative vacation, a week before the scheduled departure. The episode made her a hero among the colleagues left behind, who took on sharing their frustration with each other into private signals. (EIA’s press -secretary refused to comment on the episode. Neither Dodge nor the White House responded to requests for this article.)
EIA, whose director is appointed president, is usually elected from the apolitical academic or industry figures, ready to get a new leadership. Trump’s nominee is a Tampa Tristan Abbey Energy Consultant, a self-written analytical banner in a conservative group that named the US domination in the export of natural gas “”ability of generation“Abbey, 39 years old, served as an energy staff at the Trump National Security Council. The firm also has Eclectic side business focused on publishing books written by researchers or about historical figures in philosophy and mathematics.
Abbey enjoyed a friendly hearing confirmation on Wednesday before Committee on Senate Energy and Natural Resources. He testified that he would leave his “political role” behind and confirmed his commitment to EIA, providing “non -partisan facts”.
The abbey praised AIU as “the leading world energy agency”, but also stated that “needs immediate activation”. He presented an ambitious list of mandatory, seemingly disagreement with the administration’s wholesale cuts. Eia, Abbey announced“We need to clear the decks of unfinished projects”, “Set and preserve the best talents” and “Develop the most powerful analytical opportunities”. Among its main priorities, the Abbey testified: “Expanding the global energy collection and analysis.”
Doris Burke have made research.
