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close video KT McFarland says US should use Reagan tactics against Russia: We need to become energy-dominant

K.T. McFarland, former deputy national security adviser, says the Ukraine-Russia war is ‘escalating’ and believes there needs to be a third option to end the war on ‘The Evening Edit.’

Energy prices have plummeted due to concerns over the banking crisis, but this is likely only a short-term dip, according to an energy expert. 

Unfortunately, this means customers who have been facing soaring bills won't see much relief. 

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected that the price of electricity, specifically in the residential sector, will increase in 2023 and in 2024. In 2022, the average cost of electricity in the U.S. was 15.12 cents per kilowatt-hour. That's projected to rise to 15.63 and 15.66 cents over the next two years, according to EIA data.   

Workers with Southern California Edison replace a transformer on Holt Street in Santa Ana, Calif., Sept. 10, 2021. (Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images / Getty Images)

"I'm afraid we're going to have to get used to a new era of higher energy prices across the board," Price Futures Group Senior Analyst Phil Flynn told FOX Business. Flynn is also a FOX Business contributor.

FOOD, RENT AND ENERGY PRICES REMAIN HIGH IN FEBRUARY INFLATION BREAKDOWN

Flynn explained that energy prices are plunging on concerns over the banking crisis, which unfolded two weeks ago when Silicon Valley Bank failed, and not because demand for oil supplies has suddenly dried up.  

"Supplies versus demand are about as tight as they have ever been," he added. 

HOUSE REPUBLICANS PROPOSE MAJOR ENERGY AND PERMITTING REFORM PACKAGE

A Pacific Gas & Electric worker walks in front of a truck in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu / AP Newsroom)

Global energy consumption has rebounded from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and supply was barely keeping pace with demand before the war in Ukraine further reduced stockpiles. As a result, energy prices remain elevated, squeezing already tight household budgets even further. 

The National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association (NEADA) announced in January it had the highest total number of Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) applications this winter since 2011 "as families struggle with paying some of their biggest home energy bills in more than a decade."

MARKETS MAY BE UNDERESTIMATING THE THREAT OF HIGH INFLATION, BLACKROCK WARNS

During winter, the number of households receiving energy assistance jumped by an estimated 1.3 million. This doesn't "even account for possible increases in applications this summer to help families pay for air conditioning as they deal with rising temperatures due to climate change," the NEADA added. 

If the banking situation stabilizes, it will actually make matters worse with respect to oil supplies, according to Flynn. 

An electric meter outside a home. (iStock / iStock)

"It will actually be more bullish for energy prices because the banks are going to be less likely to lend money," he said, adding that oil companies that are uncertain about the economy might not follow through on making investments in oil.

"On top of that, you have the current administration that makes it difficult to get a project off the ground anyway." 

UNDERLYING ENERGY MARKET CONDITIONS COULD SIGNAL PAIN FOR CONSUMERS THIS WINTER AND BEYOND

All those factors would contribute to a "massive underinvestment" in future supplies, which, in turn, could cause higher energy prices "for decades maybe to come," he added. 

"At the end of the day, demand is on an upward trend and production is not keeping up, and it's going to have a difficult time keeping up because the investment dollars just aren't there," he said. 

A gas stove lets off a blue flame inside a kitchen in Barcelona. (Davide Bonaldo/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Image / Getty Images)

If we want low energy prices at this point, you have to "be rooting for a recession or a major economic slowdown," Flynn noted. 

However, given that the supply and demand balance is so tight, "if the economy continues to grow, prices are going to have to go up to move demand and encourage future investment," according to Flynn. 

It's important to keep in mind, though, that bills are contingent on electricity usage as well as the price of energy. 

For instance, Consolidated Edison Inc., or ConEd, which provides energy to roughly 10 million people in New York City and Westchester County, has been advising customers to be "particularly mindful of managing their usage at a time when energy prices are high across the country." close video US energy needs to be ‘affordable, reliable and cleaner’: Chevron CEO Mike Wirth

Chevron Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth discussed the oil company’s growth outlook and Biden’s energy agenda on ‘Mornings with Maria.’

Luckily, a warmer winter helped to depress energy usage, meaning customers didn't see the big spike in bills that happened in January 2022, a spokesperson for ConEd told FOX Business. 

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Still, the company has been offering its customers payment plans to help ease the financial burden. 

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Springer out after 3rd base hop, ending Jays’ rally

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Springer out after 3rd base hop, ending Jays' rally

TORONTO — Blue Jays outfielder George Springer skipped into third base on a key RBI hit by teammate Alejandro Kirk, and hopped right into an inning-ending out in the fifth on Sunday against the Athletics.

Springer was called out following a replay review after Athletics third baseman Max Schuemann alertly kept his glove on the Blue Jays right fielder while Springer hopped up and down on third base.

Springer, who had reached on an RBI single that opened the scoring for Toronto, was celebrating Kirk’s double that cut the deficit to 3-2.

The out call meant Toronto slugger Addison Barger didn’t get to bat with runners at second and third.

Schuemann had just entered the game as a defensive replacement, taking over for Miguel Andujar.

The Athletics had lost five straight and 16 of 17 entering Sunday.

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Ukraine’s drone attack in Russia shows Kyiv felt it had nothing to lose

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Ukraine's drone attack in Russia shows Kyiv felt it had nothing to lose

An audacious Ukrainian drone attack against multiple airbases across Russia is a humiliating security breach for Vladimir Putin that will doubtless trigger a furious response.

Pro-Kremlin bloggers have described the drone assault – which Ukrainian security sources said hit more than 40 Russian warplanes – as “Russia’s Pearl Harbor” in reference to the Japanese attack against the US in 1941 that prompted Washington to enter the Second World War.

Ukraine war latest: Russia accuses Kyiv of ‘terrorist attack’

The Ukrainian operation – which used small drones smuggled into Russia, hidden in mobile sheds and launched off the back of trucks – also demonstrated how technology and imagination have transformed the battlefield, enabling Ukraine to seriously hurt its far more powerful opponent.

Moscow will have to retaliate, with speculation already appearing online about whether President Putin will again threaten the use of nuclear weapons.

“We hope that the response will be the same as the US response to the attack on their Pearl Harbor or even harsher,” military blogger Roman Alekhin wrote on his Telegram channel.

Codenamed ‘Spider’s Web’, the mission on Sunday was the culmination of one and a half years of planning, according to a security source.

More on Russia

In that time, Ukraine’s secret service smuggled first-person view (FPV) drones into Russia, sources with knowledge of the operation said.

Flat-pack, garden-office style sheds were also secretly transported into the country.

The drones were hidden in truck containers and the tops remotely lifted for the drones to be flown out to attack. Pic: SBU Security Service
Image:
The drones were hidden in truck containers. Pic: SBU Security Service

The oblong sheds were then built and drones were hidden inside, before the containers were put on the back of trucks and driven to within range of their respective targets.

At a chosen time, doors on the roofs of the huts were opened remotely and the drones were flown out. Each was armed with a bomb that was flown into the airfields, with videos released by the security service that purportedly showed them blasting into Russian aircraft.

These drones were used to destroy Russian bomber aircraft. Pic: SBU Security Service
Image:
These drones were used to destroy Russian bomber aircraft. Pic: SBU Security Service

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Among the targets were Tu-95 and Tu-22 bomber aircraft that can launch cruise missiles, according to the Ukrainian side. An A-50 airborne early warning aircraft was also allegedly hit. This is a valuable platform that is used to command and control operations.

The use of such simple technology to destroy multi-million-pound aircraft will be watched with concern by governments around the world.

Suddenly, every single military base, airfield and warship will appear that little bit more vulnerable if any truck nearby could be loaded with killer drones.

Read more:
Russia investigates bridge collapses
What new Stalin statue says about Putin’s regime

The most immediate focus, though, will be on how Mr Putin responds.

Previous attacks by Ukraine inside Russia have triggered retaliatory strikes and increasingly threatening rhetoric from the Kremlin.

But this latest operation is one of the biggest and most significant, and comes on the eve of a new round of peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv that are meant to take place in Turkey. It is not clear if that will still happen.

US President Donald Trump has been pushing for the two sides to make peace but Russia has only escalated its war.

Ukraine clearly felt it had nothing to lose but to also go on the attack.

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Phils moving Walker to relief in bullpen shakeup

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Phils moving Walker to relief in bullpen shakeup

PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies made moves to restructure their bullpen Sunday, removing Taijuan Walker from the rotation and recalling right-handed reliever Seth Johnson before their series finale against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Mick Abel will take Walker’s place in the starting rotation Thursday in Toronto. Reliever Jose Ruiz was designated for assignment to clear a roster spot for Johnson.

“I think Tai’s got a chance to make us a lot better coming out of the ‘pen,” manager Rob Thomson said.

Walker has made 10 appearances, including eight starts and two long relief appearances, with a 2-4 record and 3.53 ERA in 43⅓ innings. Thomson will use Walker in one-inning roles.

The 32-year-old Walker has been primarily a starter throughout his 13-year career. He is in the third year of a $72 million, four-year contract.

Abel made his major league debut on May 18, throwing six scoreless innings. The 23-year-old was the No. 15 pick in the 2020 amateur draft.

Johnson, 26, is 2-2 with a 4.91 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 33 innings with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, transitioning from the starting rotation to a relief role. He made one appearance for the Phillies last year, allowing nine earned runs in 2⅓ innings on Sept. 8 against Miami.

Johnson was acquired by the Phillies from Baltimore on July 30, 2024, in a trade for Gregory Soto.

Ruiz had an 8.16 ERA in 14⅓ innings this season, including allowing five runs in one inning of Saturday’s 17-7 loss to the Brewers. The 30-year-old right-hander had a 5-1 record and 3.71 ERA in 52 appearances in 2024.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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