Energy Update: Week of March 12

Energy Update - March 12, 2018

Friends,

I always hate losing an hour of sleep when we spring forward.  Props our friend Andy Blackwho posted a lucid objection on Facebook to changing our clocks twice a year.  We need that extra hour of sleep for March Madness.

Yes, March Madness is here and with yesterday’s selection show now is the time to make your picks. Thursday at Noon is when ALL the action starts.  It is among my favorite times of the year because my office TV will be set for hoops on Thursday at noon.

The play-in games begin tomorrow with Radford taking on LIU-Brooklyn and UCLA playing St Bonaventure.  Wednesday’s play-ins feature Arizona State and Syracuse and NC Central and Texas Southern.  Top seeds are Virginia, Villanova, Kansas and Xavier.

There is real science to picking winners in the pool, but over the years I’ve realized that most of it is just good luck. If you’re looking for some sleepers, here are a few you may want to consider: Providence has been hot lately but is a 10-seed, as is Butler who has made deep runs in past years. San Diego State is solid 11-seed as is Loyola (IL) while a good 12-seed is New Mexico State. You also may want to look at Davidson another 12-seed who has plenty of tourney experience, gets a young/inconsistent Kentucky team and just beat Rhode Island for the A-10 title right here in Capital One Arena.  Also the Bobby Hurley-led Arizona State Sun Devils struggled of late but let off the season with early big wins over #1 seeds Kansas and Xavier and could be a factor.

Some mid-level seeds that you should keep an eye on include last year’s NIT champ Texas Tech, a very good West Virginia team, #7 seed Nevada, a Houston crew that battled for the American Conference title and sleepy but skilled URI crew led by Danny Hurley.

Purdue was on fire down the stretch and Is a #2 and Duke is as solid as ever.  Finally I’d say watch out for Hardy perennials like Arizona, Gonzaga, Kentucky, Michigan State and Michigan.

And don’t sleep on the women’s tourney which will have its selection show tonight. UConn, Baylor, So Carolina, Notre Dame and Mississippi State all in the running.  As well, NCAA Wrestling starts this week as well.  Penn State, Ohio State, Iowa, Missouri and Lehighamong the powerhouses.

Good luck and remember I’m always willing to share your winnings should my suggestions make good.

On to the action in DC.  It is a very busy week on Capitol Hill with a number of key hearings.  Let’s start with Infrastructure as tomorrow a Sen Commerce/Transpo panel hears from state/local highway and municipal officials Wednesday while the full Committee hosts Transpo Secretary Chao and Commerce Secretary Ross on Wednesday.  Also Wednesday, a House Ways & Means panel revisits impacts of the post-tax reform tax extenders and a House Energy panel will discuss legislation addressing cybersecurity and emergency response.  Finally, on Thursday, House Oversight’s energy panel will examine federal permitting processes.  Also several budget hearings this week with Interior Zinke at Senate Energy tomorrow and House Resources on Thursday.  Energy Secretary Perry at House E&W Approps on Thursday and at Senate Transpo Wednesday Afternoon.

The ARPA-E Innovation Summit is at National Harbor starting tomorrow and features the Chamber Global Energy Institute head Karen Harbert hosting a Wednesday Fireside Chat with Perry.  Meanwhile, the National League of Cities is in DC this week for its annual Meeting (infrastructure and environment are definitely on the schedule), as is the National Lt Governors Assn with my colleague Liam Donovan is talking infrastructure on Thursday there.  The Business Council for Sustainable Energy has its annual DC Clean Energy Forum tomorrow featuring FERC’s Rich Glick, EPA’s Bill Wehrum and DOE’s Dan Simmons.   And ACORE holds its renewable energy forum on Capitol Hill Wednesday.

Obviously, the steel tariffs remain a major issue for consuming Industries impacted by the president’s decision. Once again this week, the trade experts at Bracewell are hot on the case. Check out our podcast here on Stitcher, iTunes, SoundCloud, and Google Play Musicwhich breaks down the details and adds good background info.

As I said last week, the 10th Annual Congressional Hockey Challenge is set for the Kettler Capitals Iceplex on Thursday May 15th.  I will be on the ice again this year officiating and I hope you all try to attend for this great cause.  Get Tickets here. If this helps get you there, you should also know that I will be singing Oh Canada.

Remember, Wednesday is Pi Day (for Our Math nerd readers) and Thursday is the Ides of March (for our history buffs).  Call with questions.  Best,

Frank Maisano

(202) 828-5864

(202) 997-5932