TOPSHOT – Aerial view of the Essequibo region taken from Guyana on December 12, 2023. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his Guyanese counterpart, Irfaan Ali, will meet on December 14, 2023 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, on their countries’ growing dispute over the oil-rich region of Essequibo, amid mounting international warnings against escalating the row. (Photo by Roberto CISNEROS / AFP) (Photo by ROBERTO CISNEROS/AFP via Getty Images)
Roberto Cisneros | Afp | Getty Images
Venezuela and Guyana have agreed not to use force or threaten one another in their long-standing dispute over a border region with enormous oil reserves.
The resource-rich territory of Essequibo has been thrust into the global spotlight after Venezuela recently revived its claim to the land following a 2015 discovery of oil off the region’s coast.
In a tense meeting held in St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Thursday, Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro and Guyana President Mohamed Irfaan Ali reaffirmed their commitment to “good neighborliness” and “peaceful coexistence.”
The two countries declared that they would “not threaten or use force against one another in any circumstances, including those consequential to any existing controversies between the two States.”
Maduro and Ali also agreed to establish a joint commission of foreign ministers and officials to address any matters relating to Essequibo, a 61,600 square-mile region that covers most of Guyana.
Both countries said they plan to meet again in Brazil within the next three months to resolve any outstanding issues.
“I am satisfied to have been face to face as I wanted it for a long time,” Maduro said Friday via X, formerly known as Twitter, according to a Google translation. He thanked Guyana’s Ali “for his candor and willingness to engage in broad dialogue.”
“It was worth it to raise the flag of truth, to raise our historical reasons and to seek, with Bolivarian Peace Diplomacy, the path of dialogue and understanding to channel this historical controversy,” Maduro said.
The Essequibo dispute
The dispute over Essequibo stretches back over a century, but tensions have flared recently after Maduro claimed sovereignty over the region following a disputed referendum.
Venezuelans on Dec. 4 approved a referendum to claim sovereignty of Essequibo, a result which sparked outcry in Guyana.
In 1899, an international arbitral tribunal awarded the territory of Essequibo to Britain, when Guyana was still under its colonial rule. Venezuela has actively disputed this ever since. Indeed, Maduro in November accused Guyana, the U.S. and oil firms of robbing Venezuela of its territory through “legal colonialism.”
Guyana has maintained that the accord is legal and binding, and in 2018 sought the International Court of Justice to rule it as such.
The International Court of Justice on Dec. 1 ordered Venezuela to refrain from making any move that would change Guyana’s control over Essequibo.
— CNBC’s Lee Ying Shan contributed to this report.
Leading electric vehicle analyst, author, and industry thought leaders Loren McDonald and Bill Ferro stop by Quick Charge to discuss EV Adoption’s acquisition by Paren, the “crisis” of EV charging reliability, and the real state of the EV market.
Depending on who you listen, EVs are either driving brands to record growth and are about cross that critical 10% of the overall market nationwide, or the future is bleak, the market is down, and EVs just aren’t selling. What’s really going on? Loren and Bill (probably) have some answers.
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Chevy EV owners in Texas who have Reliant as their electric utility can now charge for free at night with renewable energy.
Over 150 Chevrolet dealerships across Texas are now offering the Reliant Free Charge Nights plan to new EV buyers. With Free Charge Nights, customers can offset their charging costs by receiving credits for electricity used between 11 pm and 6 am. The plan is powered entirely by renewable energy, thanks to the purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs).
Rasesh Patel, president of NRG Consumer, says the plan is about making power personal: “We’re excited to help Chevrolet EV drivers offset the cost of charging their vehicle all while having access to a renewable electricity plan.”
This collaboration aims to make EV adoption more appealing by making charging cheaper and greener. GM Energy’s chief revenue officer, Aseem Kapur, emphasized that partnerships like this help build the ecosystem needed to support an all-electric future: “The Reliant Free Charge Nights plan is a great example of how an automaker and an energy company can work together to make EV adoption an easy decision.”
Existing Reliant customers can also sign up for the Free Charge Nights plan. To get started, Chevrolet EV owners need to designate their vehicle on the GM Energy Smart Charging Portal before enrolling in the plan.
Reliant Energy, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, serves over 1.5 million customers in Texas, making it one of the largest electricity providers in the state.
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Texas is about to get a major power boost – a new AI-powered virtual power plant (VPP) delivering capacity equivalent to 200,000 homes during peak demand.
NRG Energy is teaming up with Renew Home to bring nearly 1 gigawatt (GW) of capacity to the Texas grid by 2035, aiming to make it more resilient while helping residents save on energy costs.
The new VPP will rely on hundreds of thousands of smart thermostats and other connected home devices, making use of AI technology provided by Google Cloud. These devices, like Vivint and Nest smart thermostats, will be offered to eligible customers at no cost. By automating HVAC adjustments, they help shift energy use to when electricity is cheaper, cleaner, and less strained.
NRG and Renew Home have big plans for the VPP. Starting in spring 2025, the companies plan to roll out the program across Texas, installing these smart thermostats in homes served by NRG’s retail electricity providers. Eventually, they plan to add home battery storage and EVs to expand the power plant’s capabilities.
Texas has faced record-breaking energy demands, with peak usage hitting 85 GW in 2023. As the state’s population grows and extreme weather becomes more frequent, VPPs like this one could play a key role in stabilizing the grid. VPPs aggregate a lot of small-scale energy resources, from smart thermostats to home batteries, and use them to help balance supply and demand during times of high stress on the grid.
This nearly 1 GW VPP will be one of the largest of its kind in Texas. NRG’s president of consumer operations, Rasesh Patel, calls it a “pivotal step” for improving customer experience while making Texas’ energy infrastructure more sustainable and resilient.
In addition to Renew Home, NRG is working with Google Cloud to maximize the power plant’s effectiveness. Google Cloud’s AI and analytics tools will help predict weather conditions, forecast renewable generation, and optimize energy usage, all of which will help make energy management smoother for both customers and the grid.
Ben Brown, CEO of Renew Home, said:
NRG’s commitment to creating a more resilient and sustainable energy future while also making electricity bills more affordable makes them an ideal partner for co-developing this unique VPP program.
This initiative raises the bar for future-proofing our electricity infrastructure and delivering cost savings to customers.
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