PIPELINES: Legal experts say the recent rejection of a $1 billion natural gas connection to Long Island may be the first time a state emissions law has been used to defeat a pipeline. (InsideClimate News)

GRID:
• Some stakeholders debating New Jersey’s participation in PJM capacity markets are calling for the creation of a state power authority. (S&P Global)
• Federal regulators approve changes to PJM’s operating reserve market, but one member warns it could result in higher costs for consumers. (E&E News, subscription required)
• New England’s grid operator expects to have plenty of capacity to meet summer demand. (Vermont Business)

***SPONSORED LINK: Applications are now open for the Veterans Advanced Energy Fellowship, a yearlong program for high-performing, high-potential military veterans in advanced energy, presented by the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center. Learn more at www.vetsenergyproject.org/fellowship.***

OIL AND GAS:
• Settlement checks are being sent early for victims of a 2018 series of natural gas explosions in Massachusetts. (Eagle-Tribune)
• While drilling activity has declined sharply, an analysis finds fracking crews are now more likely to be working in Pennsylvania than Texas. (Houston Chronicle)
• Activists in Pennsylvania are making a virtual appeal to Irish politicians to reject natural gas imports from the U.S. (Leitrim Observer)

WIND: A Rhode Island company is continuing work on vessels to support offshore wind construction despite uncertainty about project timelines. (Workboat)

STORAGE:
• Vermont regulators approve two new home battery programs proposed by Green Mountain Power. (Vermont Business)
• An MIT study finds electric vehicle batteries that are no longer roadworthy could still provide grid-scale energy storage for more than a decade. (MIT News)

TRANSPORTATION: Senators from Rhode Island and Maine are calling for federal assistance for private bus operators. (Associated Press)

CLIMATE: Boston officials debate whether to require a net-zero carbon standard for new buildings. (North End Waterfront)

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UTILITIES:
• Pennsylvania is offering up to $800 in assistance with utility bills through August in response to the coronavirus pandemic. (Lancaster Online)
• Eversource and Con Edison continue to make investments in system reliability. (T&D World)

COMMENTARY:
• A Boston city council member says Eversource has failed to be transparent with community members about the location of a proposed substation. (CommonWealth Magazine)
• A Pennsylvania-based energy attorney says efficiency investments will be critical to ensure an equitable economic recovery following the coronavirus pandemic. (ROI-NJ)

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.