UTILITIES: A proposed Avangrid and Public Service Company of New Mexico merger enters the final phase of regulatory review, with all but one intervenor agreeing not to oppose the deal. (Utility Dive) 

GRID:
• Nevada’s largest utility asks customers to conserve power this week as the temperature climbs into the triple digits. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• Two Southern California storms that hit within 24 hours last week destroyed 145 utility poles and are expected to cost the utility more than $8 million to repair. (Holtville Tribune)

STORAGE: California regulators establish a process to expedite approvals of new battery storage project to help the state meet its climate goals and shore up the weather-stressed grid. (E&E News, subscription)  

ELECTRIFICATION:
• Residents of a Colorado net-zero energy-use subdivision fight to keep natural gas hookups out of the second phase of the development. (Colorado Sun)
• Pipeline and natural gas workers’ unions urge San Diego to replace gas with hydrogen or biofuels rather than requiring full-electrification of all buildings to preserve jobs. (Voice of San Diego)

CLIMATE:
• Santa Ana, California’s city council passes a resolution committing to using only clean energy by 2045. (Los Angeles Times)
• California regulators in 2018 allowed an oil and gas company to purchase carbon offset credits in a recently burned forest, a media investigation finds. (Los Angeles Times)
• Northern California’s Dixie Fire grows to more than 900,000 acres and forces a new round of evacuations. (Mercury News)
• Smoke from wildfires in southern and central Oregon trigger air quality alerts in 15 of the state’s counties. (OPB)
• A new study finds California’s drought has driven up greenhouse gas emissions by accelerating the need for energy-intensive water projects. (The Hill)

OIL & GAS:
• The U.S. Interior Department plans this fall to reopen an Obama-era greater sage grouse management plan, with potential ramifications for oil and gas drilling and wind power development in Western states. (E&E News, subscription)
• The Biden administration announces its intent to review a Trump-era decision to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas leasing. (E&E News)
• New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham plans to spend a portion of this year’s record-high oil and gas revenues on cleaning up abandoned oil and gas wells. (Associated Press) 

HYDROPOWER: Wyoming anglers and conservationists oppose the relicensing of a hydroelectric dam on the Teton River because it blocks trout migration. (Jackson Hole News and Guide)

TRANSPORTATION: A Colorado-based electric vehicle battery manufacturer moves into a larger production facility, allowing it to vastly expand production of a sulfide-based electrolyte needed for its solid state batteries. (Denver Post)

COMMENTARY: A California editorial board urges communities to fight against a proposed rail project that may be used to haul coal from the Powder River Basin to coastal export terminals. (Press Democrat)

Jonathan hails from southwestern Colorado and has been writing about the land, cultures, and communities of the Western United States for more than two decades. He compiles the Western Energy News digest. He is the author of three books, a contributing editor at High Country News, and the editor of the Land Desk, an e-newsletter that provides coverage and context on issues critical to the West.