UTILITIES: A southern Maine town complains to the state utility regulator that Central Maine Power tried to disconnect power to its fire station; the utility claims it never received payment, which town officials contest. (Lewiston Sun Journal, subscription)

ALSO:
• Three Washington, D.C., councilmembers met with utility lobbyists without disclosing the meetings, despite signing a pledge to do so; some of the officials say they plan to disclose meetings biannually. (Washington City Paper)
• Supporters of the investor-owned utility takeover bill in Maine say they’ll force a voter referendum on the matter if Gov. Janet Mills vetoes the legislation. (News Center Maine)

GRID:
• With Tropical Storm Elsa looming, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont tells utilities to avoid a repeat of the much-derided clean-up and recovery effort that followed a tropical storm last summer. (Patch.com)
• Eversource says it has contracted hundreds of extra crews from around the country to help respond to the storm. (WFSB)
• Before Elsa even hits New Jersey, thunderstorms caused thousands of ratepayers, mainly in PSEG’s service territory, to lose power on Thursday. (NJ.com)

HYDROGEN:  The New York Power Authority announces a plan to study the use of renewable hydrogen in a natural gas peaker plant on Long Island. (Newsday, subscription)

RENEWABLE ENERGY: Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee vetoes a bill that would have shifted interconnection costs of new renewable energy projects to National Grid ratepayers. (Providence Journal, subscription)

TRANSPORTATION: In the Northeast and beyond, Amtrak wants to replace dozens of its decades-old trains with newer models, some of which would run on both diesel and electricity. (CBS Boston)

NATURAL GAS:
• In Massachusetts, Pittsfield health officials decide to ask the owner of a local natural gas-fired peaker plant to look into greener energy sources to improve local air quality. (Berkshire Eagle)
• Forward gas prices for this upcoming winter have strongly risen in the Northeast markets as the regional storage deficit widens. (S&P Global Platts)

OFFSHORE WIND: Massachusetts officials show off a New Bedford warehouse that will be used to train and recertify experienced offshore wind farm workers, complete with a deepwater pool and obstacle course. (Standard-Times)

CLIMATE: A local non-profit wants to conserve 20,000 acres of northwest Vermont forestland by 2030 to preserve natural resources, protect wildlife paths and mitigate the climate crisis by acting as a carbon sink. (VT Digger)

COMMENTARY: A New Jersey farm manager says crops that can flourish alongside solar panels are limited and that the state should be cautious about allowing development on prime farmland. (NJ Spotlight)

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Bridget Reed Morawski

Bridget is a freelance reporter and newsletter writer based in the Washington, D.C., area. She compiles the Northeast Energy News digest. Bridget primarily writes about energy, conservation and the environment. Originally from Philadelphia, she graduated from Emerson College in 2015 with a degree in journalism and a minor in environmental studies. When she isn’t working on a story, she’s normally on a northern Maine lake or traveling abroad to practice her Spanish language skills.