CLIMATE: Massachusetts’ attorney general may proceed with a lawsuit against Exxon Mobil regarding its role in the climate crisis after a state judge rejected the oil and gas company’s attempt to dismiss it. (Reuters)

UTILITIES:
• A New York investigation expands to examine whether National Grid ratepayers covered the costs of a kickback scheme that generated hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bribes for numerous utility employees. (Newsday, subscription)
• A Maryland lawmaker questions the relationship between Pepco and the former mayor of a small town bordering Washington, D.C., especially given her enthusiastic support of the utility in her last months in office. (Route 1 Reporter)
• Following a regulatory review, New York regulators reduced the revenue of Con Edison and NYSEG for failing to meet reliability targets in 2020. (T&D World)
• A Boston-area suburb pushes its utilities to work together to quickly remove double poles, which are used to support older or damaged poles. (Transcript & Bulletin)

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TIDAL: A developer is testing a tidal energy turbine in the Cape Cod Canal for two days this week and using cameras to assess its impacts on fish and wildlife. (Cape Cod Times)

EFFICIENCY: Princeton University may receive at least $500,000 toward energy efficiency projects from New Jersey, according to a state utility regulator agenda. (Planet Princeton)

GRID:
• Maine becomes the ninth state to adopt an energy storage target, setting goals of 300 MW by the end of 2025 and 400 MW by the end of 2030, and then adjusting the goal every two years thereafter. (Energy Storage News)
• The developer of a transmission line project that would wind through Pennsylvania files an appeal weeks after state regulators reject its development. (Penn Live)
• Dozens of Massachusetts state legislators have signaled support for a type of cost allocation they hope will push proposed solar projects through the interconnection process. (pv magazine)

TRANSPORTATION:
• The PATH transit system between New York City and New Jersey bans e-bikes on its trains, potentially due to lithium battery safety concerns. (Streetsblog NYC)
• Maryland’s Baltimore County announced a new bus loop would provide a free transit option around the Towson area next fall. (Baltimore Sun, subscription)

OIL & GAS: Shell Chemicals began“first fire” activities last week at a southwestern Pennsylvania ethane cracker plant, which is expected to convert oil and gas into ethylene for plastics manufacturing by next year. (Beaver County Times)

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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.