POLITICO to launch Surge, new global energy newsletter

Announcement from Debra Kahn, editorial director for energy and environmental coverage; Joseph J. Schatz, deputy editor-in-chief; Laura Greenhalgh, managing editor, Europe; and Kate Day, senior executive editor, Europe:

We’re thrilled to share our launch plans for Surge, our new global newsletter covering the political and policy implications of rapidly rising electricity demand — one of the defining stories of this moment, and one that touches every policy area and market we cover.

Surge will be our first daily global policy newsletter, speaking to a powerful audience of people working across all the political jurisdictions we cover and industry decision-makers and advocacy groups who need to understand these rapidly evolving energy and climate dynamics. It will launch Aug. 31, coming to readers at 1 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CET.

Whether it’s data centers straining grids and grids in Virginia, European electrification efforts, renewable energy’s market resilience in the United States, France’s potential energy advantage on AI or climate policy tensions in New York, the same underlying force — the scramble to generate and pay for enough power — is reshaping politics, markets and policy on both sides of the Atlantic. It’s also obsessing our readers, and Surge is designed to cover that story through one unified lens.

We’ve assembled a powerful team of reporters and editors to make this newsletter a success, starting with Ben Storrow, who has been reporting on the intersection of energy, climate and policymaking in the United States for POLITICO and E&E News readers for a decade. Ben is one of our savviest narrators of the energy world, including how the offshore wind industry is navigating the Trump administration.

He'll partner with a stellar team spanning our global newsroom, including: Zia Weise and James Fernyhough, who are driving coverage of the EU energy and climate transitions in Brussels; Nicolas Camut and Alexandre Léchenet, who are tracking France’s unique position in the electricity story and as home to the International Energy Agency in Paris; Charlie Cooper and Russell Hargrave, who are leading the team charting Britain’s energy challenges and the shift to net-zero; Sara Schonhardt in Washington, who has been covering global climate and finance negotiations for POLITICO and E&E News following more than a decade reporting across Southeast Asia; Mike Blanchfield in Ottawa, who’s brought his deep Parliament Hill and trade reporting experience to the quickly evolving energy beat in Canada; and — batting cleanup and ranging across Surge's scope and beyond — Zack Colman, who has long been a leading voice on energy issues and politics for the POLITICO audience and a familiar voice to loyal Energy podcast listeners.

This team will work closely with our energy and climate team in Berlin and colleagues across Ottawa, Brussels, London, Paris, U.S. state capitals, Madrid and Canberra to capture the full breadth and depth of our reporting expertise for readers.

Evan Lehmann, who has edited climate and energy policy with distinction for POLITICO and E&E News, will edit and guide Surge, connecting across all of our time zones. He’ll partner with Emily Yehle, our longtime West Coast evening energy editor, who will also take on a key role editing and shaping Surge.

The Surge team is meeting this week in Rosslyn preparing for launch, and we're excited to bring the newsletter to life for readers soon.