Columbia Energy Exchange

Everyone from energy executives to traders on Wall Street to policymakers across the US depend on accurate, timely information about energy production, consumption, and trends. At the heart of this critical infrastructure sits the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of S&P Global, has called EIA’s data the “gold standard.” But while the amount and complexity of energy data is growing, federal support for ensuring robust energy data collection is waning. The agency underwent substantial staffing cuts this spring — part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s reductions. After the EIA’s most recent Annual Energy Outlook forecast the growth of renewables, the Department of Energy criticized the findings.  So how vulnerable is the agency to losing more support from the administration? What’s at stake if EIA cannot retain or recruit people with expertise in not only traditional energy but emerging fields, like critical minerals? And who else stands to lose if the agenc