FOSSIL FUELS: Fire investigators confirm an explosion that destroyed a Maryland apartment building last week was caused by a plumber cutting an unlabeled gas pipeline, thinking it was a drain waste pipe. (Washington Post)

ALSO:
• ISO-New England’s latest auction results won’t include the proposed Killingly natural gas plant following two recent rulings allowing the exclusion, leaving the facility’s developers with seemingly no way to complete the project. (CT Mirror)
• A Maine lawmaker introduces a bill to pause the state’s gasoline tax as gas prices skyrocket nationwide, but some legislators worry about how it will affect the transportation infrastructure budget. (Bangor Daily News)
• Residents of a New York public housing complex have been without cooking gas for weeks, which National Grid blames on a contractor damaging the gas line. (CBS New York)

GRID:
• Over 100,000 people were without power in the mid-Atlantic — mainly in upstate New York — and New England regions this morning due to strong winds whipping through the region. (Times Union, PowerOutages.US)
• New Hampshire utility regulators begin deliberating rules that will govern the planning and operation of new community power programs. (New Hampshire Public Radio)
• New York’s utility commission will investigate Central Hudson Gas & Electric’s  handling of outages and recovery during a February ice storm. (Daily Freeman)

SOLAR: National Grid files a request with Rhode Island utility regulators to end its solar canopy subsidies, claiming they produced few ratepayer benefits and high costs. (ecoRI)

NUCLEAR: Massachusetts officials worry the rapid decommissioning of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station will reduce funding for radiation monitoring. (NBC Boston)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• New Hampshire electric vehicle advocates want to see more available charging infrastructure, but an energy transition expert says there is little incentive to add more stations since relatively few drivers use them. (New Hampshire Bulletin)
• Many Maine communities have relatively easy access to the public electric vehicle charging network, but the state’s energy efficiency quasi-agency plans to expand into Washington and Aroostook counties in the next year. (Bangor Daily News)

OFFSHORE WIND: Dozens of Danish financiers descended on coastal cities in the Northeast in recent days to discuss and hear pitches on potential offshore wind investments. (Standard Times)

CLIMATE:
• A coastal Maine town’s climate task force evaluates how to best protect its waterfront ecosystem and infrastructure given sea-level rise estimates. (News Center Maine)
• An award-winning Massachusetts theater and Harvard University host an ocean-themed musical that the organizations hope will bring climate crisis concerns to life. (WBUR)
• A Maryland news outlet will co-sponsor and moderate an upcoming climate forum for both Democratic and Republican gubernatorial candidates. (Maryland Matters) 

EFFICIENCY: Two Connecticut universities are now offering free efficiency assessments to 20 small-to-medium-sized manufacturers in the state, with the endeavor supported by federal grant money. (news release)

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.