TRANSPORTATION: Chicago transit advocates push to ensure system cuts during the pandemic don’t harm workers’ access to jobs or disrupt progress on emission reductions. (Energy News Network)
POLICY: Legislation to update Minnesota’s energy efficiency program failed to get a vote at the end of regular session this week, though lawmakers did approve new funding for a solar incentive program. (Energy News Network)
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PIPELINES:
• Dozens of congressional Democrats support the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s attempt to shut down the Dakota Access pipeline while a federal environmental review is completed. (Associated Press)
• Michigan regulators are still weighing Enbridge’s request to waive a typical review process as the company seeks to build a tunnel in the Great Lakes for the Line 5 pipeline. (Petoskey News-Review)
EQUITY:
• With moratoriums on utility shut-offs expected to end in the coming weeks, the chairperson of the Michigan Public Service Commission fears consumer debt and disconnections will follow. (E&E News, subscription)
• Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb is expected to sign an executive order today that includes extending a ban on utility shut-offs through June. (WTHI)
OIL & GAS:
• The Trump administration is giving companies temporary breaks on royalties and rent they pay to extract oil and gas on public land, which could lower revenue for states like North Dakota. (Associated Press)
• In its decision to strike down a Washington state law meant to regulate oil transported by rail from North Dakota, a federal agency says a state can’t use “safety as a pretext for inhibiting market growth.” (DeSmog)
RENEWABLES: Momentum driving corporate renewable energy purchases has slowed due to the pandemic, though it’s expected to rebound with long-term demand. (Utility Dive)
***SPONSORED LINK: Green Energy Ohio invites you to a virtual conversation about Clean Energy in the Age of Coronavirus, May 21 at noon EDT. Featuring ENN reporter Kathiann Kowalski and Dan Gearino from InsideClimate News. Register today!***
UTILITIES: Exelon’s CEO tells investors the company has “found ways to offset much of the financial impact of this unique challenge, but we’re not done.” (E&E News, subscription)
COMMENTARY:
• The pandemic has led states including Missouri and Ohio to “cynically question the value of efficiency” while Michigan officials continue to defend it, says the head of an advanced energy group. (Utility Dive)
• The Missouri Farm Bureau says lawmakers’ inaction on a bill that would have prevented developers from using eminent domain for the Grain Belt Express transmission project was a missed opportunity. (Springfield Business Journal)