General U.S. NewsNov 4, 2026·3 min read

‘Seismic’ blue wave triggers the sinking of oil prices, energy stocks, and the chances of power permitting reform

Fortune – Tech

1h ago

‘Seismic’ blue wave triggers the sinking of oil prices, energy stocks, and the chances of power permitting reform

Summary

Most energy stocks plunged on Wednesday—except for clean power and utilities in a few remaining reliably red states—as crude oil prices fell to one-month lows because of bullishness on Iran war peace talks and bearishness on the data center boom after Democratic blue wave wins in the midterm elections. Even as Wall Street celebrated the anticipated gridlock from a splintered Congress and White House—the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3% Wednesday—most energy companies moved in the opposite direction, especially in states such as Texas that had the most shocking Democratic wins. The other potential loser is the bipartisan legislation to expedite the construction of energy projects—and power the AI boom—that would benefit both renewable power and oil and gas pipelines. Anti-fossil fuel Democrats are now potentially motivated to take harder negotiating tactics. TD Cowen analysts slashed their projection for passing the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA) from 40% to 25% during the lame-duck session before the new Congress is sworn in. Charles Hua, executive director of the PowerLines nonprofit, said the “seismic” blue wave from Congress to governors’ elections to public service commissions was a referendum on spiking utility bills, gasoline costs, and the inflationary ripple effects throughout the economy. “You only get such seismicity in political results if something is fundamentally unsteady or unstable, and I think one of the big manifestations of that really has been energy costs,” Hua told Fortune. In addition to voter discontent over the Iran war and fuel prices, there were more than 40 local ballot measure on restricting or regulating data centers. There is no clear compromise yet, and Trump could easily get frustrated and OPT (work permit after graduation) for escalation between now and January, which is what Trump himself predicted before the election. “I think the Iran conflict gets more complicated for the U.S. The legislation would facilitate the growth of long-distance transmission lines, which most benefit renewable energy. The legislation’s Democratic sponsor, Sen.

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