EFFICIENCY: Utility efficiency programs are credited for a sustained reduction in electricity demand in the Midwest. (EnergyWire)

ALSO: An industry group issues a report claiming Ohio’s efficiency rules have high costs with little benefit. (Columbus Dispatch)

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TRANSMISSION: Iowa lawmakers introduce a bill requiring transmission line developers to come up with alternate routes if more than five percent of landowners oppose. (Des Moines Register)

PETCOKE: New legislation restricting petcoke storage will be announced today by Attorney General Lisa Madigan. (Chicago Sun-Times)

COAL ASH: A second leak at a decommissioned power plant is leaking coal ash into a North Carolina river, state officials say the water being released contains unsafe levels of arsenic. (Reuters, Associated Press)

OIL BY RAIL: An Associated Press review finds more than 3 million gallons of oil have spilled from trains since 2008.

FRACKING: Ohio Gov. John Kasich reverses course on drilling in state parks as lawmakers call for an investigation into state regulators’ plans to conduct PR for the industry. (Columbus Dispatch)

NUCLEAR: A Department of Energy-funded boom in new nuclear power plants has failed to materialize. (New York Times)

POLITICS: California billionaire Tom Steyer plans to spend $100 million to make climate change a central issue in this year’s elections, and has even bigger plans for 2016. (Politico)

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TRANSPORTATION: President Obama says new efficiency rules for trucks are a “win win win,” and a Wisconsin repair shop offers reconditioning services for hybrid car batteries. (New York Times, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

COMMENTARY: How the ethanol industry can thrive without subsidies, and why the North Carolina coal ash spill shows a need for national standards. (Energy Trends Insider, New York Times)