OIL & GAS: A gas explosion kills one and levels three houses in Baltimore but officials say investigations could take years to determine if aging infrastructure was responsible. (Baltimore Sun)

ALSO: Pennsylvania Senate leaders urge federal funding in the next stimulus bill for plugging orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells. (Pennsylvania Business Report)

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UTILITIES:
• Bipartisan critics take aim at New Jersey utilities for the slow response to restore power lost during Tropical Storm Isaias. (NJTV)
• Nearly 90,000 customers, mostly in New York and Connecticut, are still without power a week after the storm. (New York Times)
• In response to the outages, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont says the state should adopt a “performance-based” regulation model for utilities that penalizes poor service. (WTNH)

STORAGE:
• A startup that will build a 150-hour duration battery plant says its technology can replace dirty and expensive peaker plants that are often an environmental hazard in disadvantaged and environmental justice communities. (Greentech Media)
• A Vermont transmission company selects two state-based providers to build a solar and 1.2 MWh storage system at its headquarters. (Vermont Biz)

WIND: A wind farm in New York resumes construction after a two-week delay caused by a positive COVID-19 test of an out-of-state contractor. (Observer)

RENEWABLE ENERGY: A new report says that if New York stays on target it will get 70% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. (News10)

TRANSMISSION:
• A New York town approves an underground cable that will run alongside a railroad line as part of a project to carry hydropower from Canada to New York City. (Altamont Enterprise)
• The fight over a proposed Maine power line to import Canadian hydropower could thwart Northeast states’ attempts to cut power plant emissions. (E&E News, subscription required)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A nonprofit drops plans to install four electric vehicle charging stations in a New Hampshire city, citing regulatory delays. (Valley News) 

COMMENTARY:
• The Climate Reality Project says New Jersey can be a national model for clean energy and efficiency by adopting a zero-carbon energy strategy and the necessary investment to enable it. (NJ.com)
• The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance says Attorney General Maura Healey’s climate lawsuit against oil companies is more about generating headlines than promoting effective energy policies. (Boston Herald)

Bill is a freelance journalist based outside Albany, New York. As a former New England correspondent for RTO Insider, he has written about energy for newspapers, magazines and other publications for more than 20 years. He has an extensive career in trade publications and newspapers, mostly focused on the utility sector, covering such issues as restructuring, renewable energy and consumer affairs. Bill covers Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire and also compiles the Northeast Energy News daily email digest.