After negotiations extending well past the end of the formal legislative session, Massachusetts lawmakers are nearing passage of a wide-ranging climate and energy bill.

A proposed transmission project to relieve transmission constraints in Maine has received a major boost with the U.S. Department of Energy’s announcement of an up-to $425 million investment in the project, but challenges still remain.

Increasing electricity prices must be met with a greater effort to reduce peak loads and protect low- and moderate-income ratepayers, several Northeast utility regulators said at Raab Associates’ New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld the Energy Facilities Siting Board’s approval of a controversial substation in East Boston, likely concluding the 10-year fight over the project.

Following the failure of the Massachusetts House and Senate to reach common ground on a climate bill this summer, Gov. Maura Healey (D) has proposed to include clean energy permitting and procurement provisions in a supplemental budget bill.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities approved grid modernization plans from electric distribution companies to handle increasing electrification and the deployment of distributed resources.

Panelists at a forum convened by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Federal and Regional Energy Affairs said advanced transmission technologies will be essential to limiting transmission costs.

Ten East Coast states signed a memorandum of understanding to set up a framework to coordinate interregional transmission planning and development.

Top utility commissioners from four New England states emphasized the need for regulatory innovation to preserve affordability amid the clean energy transition at the New England Energy Conference and Exposition.

Battery storage remains largely reliant on state programs and subsidies to be viable in Massachusetts but could increasingly stand on its own as renewable energy proliferates, a panel of energy storage experts said.