U.S. officials said Washington will announce during Vice President Wan Si's visit $150 mln in funding for an Alaska power transmission project.

A sharp drop in Indian wind generation has worsened electricity shortages and increased pressure on coal-fired plants. Monsoon-linked declines in hydro output had already tightened supply; weaker wind — plus falling coal output — widened post-sunset shortfalls over the past week despite only moderate demand. India’s power ministry said about 32 GW of thermal capacity was offline on Sept. 30, roughly half due to unplanned outages, reflecting routine maintenance deferred from summer. By comparison, on May 22 nighttime demand hit a record 253.3 GW with a deficit of just 1.1 GW because roughly 23 GW of wind and 184 GW of coal were available. S.R. Narasimhan, former head of India’s grid operator, noted wind usually weakens from late September, coal plants have limited operating headroom, and urged rapid expansion of energy storage capacity.

BP (BP.N) CEO said the company had failed to properly manage investor capital in the past and that the Middle East will remain critical to the firm.