COLORADO

Colorado Springs Utilities Changes Peak Hours Billing

Colorado Springs Utilities has enacted a new program that will charge customers different rates for energy used at different times of the day.

The utility will charge a higher rate for energy used during the peak hours of 5-9 p.m. during the winter and summer seasons. The winter peak charge will increase from 7 cents to 14 cents, while summer peak hours will jump from 7 cents to 29 cents.

More: Colorado Public Radio

IDAHO

Ada County Greenlights Solar-plus-storage Project

Ada County commissioners voted to approve a conditional use application for a 150-MW solar farm and battery storage facility just outside of Kuna.

Solar arrays will cover about 950 of the property’s 1,700 acres.

More: BoiseDev

INDIANA

Bill to Remove Eminent Domain Option for Carbon Pipelines, Projects Introduced

Rep. Tim Yocum (R-Clinton) has introduced legislation that would remove the use of eminent domain for private carbon capture, carbon pipelines and other underground carbon storage projects.

The bill was referred to the House Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications Committee. If the bill passes out of committee, it will move to the full House of Representatives for further consideration.

More: WTWO

IOWA

House Introduces Bill to Ban CO2 Pipelines from Using Eminent Domain

A House subcommittee advanced a bill that would prohibit carbon dioxide pipeline operators from exercising eminent domain for the purpose of building a pipeline. 

Rep. Steven Holt (R-Denison) said the bill would not stop the pipeline from being built but would protect residents’ private property rights. Opponents of the bill argued it would stall economic growth by blocking construction of the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline.

Holt advanced the bill to the House Judiciary Committee.

More: Iowa Capital Dispatch

SCOTUS Denies Counties’ Request for Rehearing in Summit Pipeline Case

The U.S. Supreme Court denied a request Jan. 12 from Story and Shelby counties for a review of a lower court’s ruling that county ordinances pertaining to a carbon sequestration pipeline were preempted by federal pipeline regulations. 

The lawsuit is between the counties and Summit Carbon Solutions, which is seeking to build a carbon sequestration pipeline across the state. In October 2022, county supervisors enacted local ordinances that established setback, permitting, emergency management and abandonment standards for hazardous materials pipelines within the counties. Summit sued the counties later that year, arguing the ordinances were preempted by federal pipeline safety standards.

The court did not offer an explanation for the denial.

More: Iowa Capital Dispatch

MARYLAND

Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Deploy 4 GW of Solar

Del. Lorig Charkoudian and Sen. Benjamin Brooks introduced the Affordable Solar Act on the opening day of the 2026 legislative session. 

The bill would establish a target to connect 4 GW of solar capacity to the grid by 2035 and mandate that implementation result in no increases to utility bills for residents.

The legislation now moves to committees for hearings and fiscal analysis.

More: pv magazine

MASSACHUSETTS

Healey Admin Pushes Back Clean Heat Standard to 2028

Environmental regulators are delaying implementation of the Clean Heat Standard until 2028, according to a note the Healey administration sent to stakeholders in late December.

The memo, sent to “stakeholders” on Dec. 23, 2025, said the administration is “working to ensure there is a robust market for affordable clean heat” and the state will be evaluating additional data around fuel and emissions trends and heat pump adoptions.

The standard is a key part of the state’s overall climate strategy and was expected to take effect in 2026. The Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2025 and 2030, which was released in 2022, evaluated five different clean heat scenarios to identify “the most cost-effective way to meet statutory GHG emissions limits.”

More: CommonWealth Beacon

NEVADA

NV Energy not Planning to Refund Full Amount to Overcharged Customers

NV Energy, which has overcharged customers as much as $65 million since 2002, says it doesn’t intend on making customers whole, according to a filing with the Public Utilities Commission.

The utility, which originally intended to pay back customers for six months of overpayment, is offering refunds back to June 2017, the last month for which it has records. PUC staff want customers made whole for all overcharges back to 2002, with interest, by estimating the overcharges preceding 2017. NV Energy claims the PUC would have to file a contested case, which “would significantly delay compensation to customers.”

A law passed by the Legislature in 2025 requires utilities pay back all overcharges with interest.

More: Nevada Current

VIRGINIA

DEQ Approves Permit for MVP Southgate Pipeline

The Department of Environmental Quality approved a water protection permit for Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate and its 31.3-mile natural gas pipeline.

The pipeline will transport natural gas from an interconnection point with the MVP Main Line project in Virginia to an interconnection point with the East Tennessee Natural Gas system in North Carolina.   

More: WDBJ