GRID: Warning “climate change is upon us,” congressional Democrats say the grid disruptions from Hurricane Ida highlight the need for a massive infrastructure overhaul; while experts say utilities need to be forward-looking rather than reactive in their planning. (Associated Press, E&E News)

ALSO:
• Entergy says only about 1% of its customers in Baton Rouge are still without power. (The Advocate)
• Evacuees from New Orleans say restoration of electricity will be key to determining when they return as residents left behind continue to cope with limited power availability. (NOLA.com, USA Today)

CLIMATE:
• Experts say tens of thousands of people may abandon Louisiana after Ida, similar to the mass exodus that took place after Hurricane Katrina. (E&E News)
• Officials in a Louisiana town say “we don’t have the infrastructure to support this intensity or frequency of storms.” (Montclair Local)
• Researchers warn that stronger storms will lead to longer power outages in hurricane-prone regions, putting vulnerable people at risk from extreme heat. (Popular Science)
• Two Atlanta researchers are mapping urban heat, which tends to impact formerly redlined neighborhoods harder. (Georgia Public Broadcasting)

NATURAL GAS:
• A pipeline company is seeking to bypass Virginia regulators for a project to connect an existing line to a natural gas plant. (Virginia Mercury)
• Georgia Gov. utility regulator Tim Echols promotes compressed natural gas as a vehicle fuel while repeating myths that renewable energy was to blame for recent outages in California and Texas. (Thomasville Times-Enterprise) 

OIL & GAS:
• Experts say a spill off the Louisiana coast highlights the risks from more than 18,000 miles of abandoned pipelines in the region: “it’s all kind of a ticking time bomb.” (Bloomberg)
• Enbridge announces plans to buy a Corpus Christi export terminal after scrapping plans to build its own facility. (Natural Gas Intelligence)

SOLAR: Solar customers in rural North Carolina say their utility’s billing and fees are needlessly complicated. (Avery Journal Times)

UTILITIES: Florida regulators will discuss today whether to require a group opposing a utility rate case to reveal more information about its members. (News Service of Florida)

LITHIUM: Experts say Oklahoma could become a hub for batteries and electric vehicle manufacturing, noting a mining operation in Arkansas is expected to produce 20,000 tons of lithium a year. (Journal Record)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A Virginia congressman introduces a bill to provide tax credits for zero-emission commercial vehicles. (The Hill)

COMMENTARY: A former Trump Administration official says solar is vital for Kentucky to meet demand and diversify its energy sources. (State Journal)

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Ken Paulman

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.