CALIFORNIA 

Lawmakers Approve Newsom’s $400M Loan to Diablo Canyon

State lawmakers last week agreed to loan Pacific Gas and Electric an additional $400 million to extend the life of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, ceding to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s push after initially refusing the money in a budget spat. 

Legislative leaders questioned the necessity and cost-effectiveness of keeping the plant open, initially rejecting the loan out of concern that taxpayers and ratepayers could end up footing the bill for substantial parts of $1.4 billion in loans. But the budget deal released last week after weeks of negotiations between the governor and lawmakers includes the $400 million allotment, along with a requirement for the Department of Water Resources to report on how the money will be spent and unpaid balances. 

Diablo Canyon contributes roughly 9% of the state’s energy on a given day. 

More: Fresno Bee 

Tesla Ordered to Stop Releasing Toxic Emissions at San Francisco Plant

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District last week ordered Tesla to fix air quality problems at its electric vehicle manufacturing facility in the San Francisco Bay Area after racking up 112 violations for allegedly releasing toxic emissions into the atmosphere over the last five years. 

The board ordered Tesla to hire an independent consultant and develop a proposed implementation plan for approval, which it then must execute to stop the toxic emissions. 

More: The Associated Press 

COLORADO 

Xcel Requests $1.9B for Wildfire Prevention

Xcel Energy last week filed a $1.9 billion wildfire mitigation plan with the Public Utilities Commission aimed at preventing future wildfires. 

The utility is facing nearly 300 lawsuits over the Marshall Fire that destroyed 1,084 homes and killed two people at the end of 2021. 

The request would increase the average residential bill by $8.88 (9%) per month. 

More: The Colorado Sun 

IOWA 

Utilities Board Approves Summit Pipeline Permit

The Utilities Board last week approved the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline and will allow the company to use eminent domain to acquire landowners’ property. 

The pipeline, which would be the largest of its kind in the world, would carry liquified carbon dioxide from ethanol plants in Iowa and surrounding states to a site in North Dakota. Summit hopes for reconsideration and approval of a previously denied permit. The company says it has signed voluntary easement agreements with 75% of the Iowa route’s landowners. However, it cannot begin construction until the necessary permits are secured in South Dakota and North Dakota. 

The company expects the pipeline to operational in 2026. 

More: Iowa Capital Dispatch 

MARYLAND 

OPC Report: Spiking Utility Bills Linked to Gas Infrastructure Spending

A new report by the Office of People’s Counsel linked growing residential utility bills to massive gas infrastructure spending by state utilities. 

According to the report, state utilities are spending an average of more than $700 million a year on gas infrastructure. Spending on gas infrastructure investments has been steady since 2023 and is expected to remain so in 2025, as “utilities will be recovering around $2.5 billion from customers against that level of investment in the coming decades.” 

The report states that gas delivery rates for some utilities, particularly Baltimore Gas & Electric and Columbia Gas, have more than tripled since 2010. That has correlated to spiking delivery costs for customers. 

More: Inside Climate News 

MASSACHUSETTS 

Easthampton Seeks Comment on Climate Action Plan

Easthampton, which has been working on a Climate Action Plan, recently made a draft available to the public and sought comment on the final product. 

The plan contains 46 actions the city can take to combat climate change, which are classified into four areas: municipal actions, actions to support residents, actions to support businesses, and state and regional collaboration. The city is aiming to be 100% emission-free by 2050. 

Public comments on the plan had to be submitted by June 28. 

More: Daily Hampshire Gazette 

Senate Approves Bill to Expand Reliance on Renewable Energy

The Senate last week approved a bill aimed at expanding the adoption of renewable energy and help the state meet its climate goals, including reaching net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050. 

Supporters say the proposal will help lower utility bills by directing providers to offer discounted rates to consumers with low and middle incomes and give the state more flexibility to negotiate contracts with providers. The bill would also ban “competitive electric suppliers,” which cost consumers more than $577 million over the past eight years, according to a report from the attorney general’s office. It would also expand electric vehicle infrastructure. 

The bill now heads to the House of Representatives. 

More: The Associated Press 

OHIO 

HB 6 Updates: Regulators Continue Piecemeal Review

The Public Utilities Commission last week said it will continue to consider four FirstEnergy cases related to HB 6 separately, despite requests by the utility, customer advocates and others to combine the cases. 

FirstEnergy wanted issues in three HB 6 cases to be considered together next year, and would have split a fourth case over whether the company improperly used ratepayer money to subsidize affiliated businesses. The Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, Ohio Manufacturers’ Association Energy Group and several other parties urged the PUC to consolidate all four cases. Regulators stayed all four cases in mid-2022 after a request from the federal prosecutor’s office. Administrative Law Judge Jacky St. John ruled last week that the commission would not order further consolidation beyond its combination of the two rider cases when the stay was lifted in late February. 

The PUC set schedules that call for testimony in the rider cases to be filed in early August, with an evidentiary hearing set to start later that month. 

More: Energy News Network 

VIRGINIA 

Corporation Commission Approves Appalachian Power Tx Project

The State Corporation Commission last week approved Appalachian Power’s three-phase, $423.5 million Stuart Area Improvements Project. 

The plan aims to replace aging equipment with a more reliable system by building 25 miles of new 138-kV line and upgrading 48 miles of line in Carroll, Floyd, Henry and Patrick counties, as well as retiring 20 miles of line in Franklin County. 

Appalachian hopes to begin construction on phase 1 in 2026 and for the project to be in service in 2031. 

More: Cardinal News 

Lawsuit over State’s Withdrawal from RGGI

Circuit Judge Randall Lowe last week denied a request by the Attorney General’s Office to throw out a lawsuit that accuses the state of illegally withdrawing from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. 

Lowe’s rulings on preliminary motions — which were essentially the same as those made by another judge who later recused himself over a potential conflict of interest — moved the case toward a final decision. Lowe later scheduled a Sept. 16 hearing on the ultimate issues. 

The lawsuit, filed by the Association of Energy Conservation Professionals, alleges the State Air Pollution Control Board and the Department of Environmental Quality acted illegally in pulling out of RGGI at the behest of Gov. Glenn Youngkin. 

More: The Roanoke Times