OIL & GAS: Employees at the largest U.S. oil companies have lost around $5 billion in retirement savings due to outsized bets on their own slumping stock, an analysis finds. (Reuters)

ALSO:
• The Trump administration’s effort to bail out oil and gas producers will be a political boondoggle, legal and industry experts say. (HuffPost)
• The New York City comptroller joins critics of a utility’s plan to increase natural gas capacity to meet the city’s energy needs. (New York Daily News)

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CONGRESS: A Senate committee will hold a hearing on a major sticking point in the bipartisan federal energy bill: restrictions on heat-trapping hydrofluorocarbons. (The Hill)

EFFICIENCY: A Virginia church wants to finance upgrades to its 1960s-era HVAC system as part of the state’s first commercial property-assessed clean energy project. (Energy News Network)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Massachusetts tech firms are seeing economic opportunities in the state’s push to electrify transportation. (WGBH)
• Tesla is reportedly considering Nashville for the location of a new electric truck manufacturing plant. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)  

STORAGE: The country’s second-largest rooftop solar installer tells investors that it’s getting serious about energy storage. (Greentech Media) 

COAL:
• Nearly $640 billion of investments in coal power is at risk worldwide because it is cheaper to get electricity from renewables, a report says. (Reuters)
• Attorneys representing 1,700 former Blackjewel employees in Wyoming in a class-action lawsuit reached a settlement yesterday with the bankrupt coal operator. (K2 Radio)

RENEWABLES: Vermont utilities raise concerns about a bill requiring them to purchase local renewable energy, saying it could lead to rate increases. (Vermont Public Radio)

GRID:
• Grid operator MISO expects 4,250 MW of wind and 730 MW of natural gas generation to come online in its territory by mid-summer. (S&P Global)
• NextEra is challenging a Texas law allowing incumbent utilities first dibs on building new high-voltage power lines. (E&E News, subscription)

PIPELINES: The Keystone XL pipeline’s developer starts preliminary work along the proposed route as opponents await a court ruling on a request to block any work. (Associated Press)

CLIMATE: A policy expert says New Mexico’s goal to transition to carbon-free electricity by 2045 could be at risk, as any new natural gas assets could be “stranded” as companies divest from natural gas in favor of renewable energy. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)

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BIOFUELS: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Sen. Chuck Grassley urge the Trump administration not to appeal a federal court ruling that sided with ethanol producers over waivers given to small refiners. (Radio Iowa, E&E News, subscription)

OVERSIGHT: The governors of Minnesota and Wisconsin each appoint a clean energy supporter to state regulatory boards. (Rochester Post Bulletin, Wisconsin State Journal)

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Dan Haugen

Dan has two decades' experience working in print, digital and broadcast media. Prior to joining the Energy News Network as managing editor in December 2017, he oversaw watchdog reporting at the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, part of the USA Today Network, and before that spent several years as a freelance journalist covering energy, business and technology. Dan is a former Midwest Energy News journalism fellow and a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and mass communications from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.