UTILITIES: The City of Pueblo, Colorado is set to vote today on whether it should leave Black Hills Energy and form its own municipal electric utility. (Utility Dive)

ALSO:
• A Colorado cooperative alleges in a lawsuit that Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association engaged in fraud for years to prevent the co-op from leaving. (Mountain Town News)
• Big decisions are ahead for the City of San Diego’s new public utility as it continues to take shape, set on providing the city with cleaner energy. (Voice of San Diego)

***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***

PUBLIC LANDS: A federal judge on Friday vacated 287 oil and gas leases in Montana, ruling the BLM failed to adequately consider the environmental impacts of the drilling. (New York Times)

PIPELINES: Rockies Express Pipeline wants FERC to assert its jurisdiction over a gas transportation agreement with a Colorado-based shipper believed to be filing for bankruptcy. (S&P Global Platts)

OIL & GAS:
• California is suing two gasoline trading companies, alleging they manipulated prices at the pump in the aftermath of a 2015 refinery explosion. (Los Angeles Times)
• Congressional Republicans are reportedly planning a pressure campaign against large banks refusing financial support for Arctic National Wildlife Refuge oil drilling projects, but some experts say such financing is actually very rare. (Politico, InsideClimate News)
• Changes to a Federal Reserve lending program could benefit Wyoming oil and gas firms struggling amidst market volatility and the coronavirus pandemic. (Casper Star-Tribune)

OFFSHORE WIND: A “digital twin” model of floating offshore wind turbines that could be built off the coast of California aims to generate data to improve performance. (Greentech Media)

SOLAR: Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeals overturns the conditional use permits for two solar facilities totaling 640 acres in the west-central part of the state. (Capital Press)

NUCLEAR: The federal support package secured for workers at PG&E’s Diablo Canyon power plant is cited as an example of a robust “just transition” package. (Greentech Media)

HYDROPOWER: Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality is set to hold a public teleconference hearing May 14 on an Oregon State University wave-energy project. (Oregon Public Broadcasting News)

TRANSPORTATION: Work has begun on a 5.8-mile electric bus route in Spokane, Washington, aiming to be in service beginning May 2022. (Spokesman-Review)

Lisa Ellwood

Lisa is a Lenape and Nanticoke Native American freelance journalist, editor and writer currently based in the U.K. She has more than two decades’ experience working in corporate communications and print and digital media. She compiles the Western Energy News daily email digest. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Temple University; her specializations include data journalism and visualization. She is a member of the Native American Journalists Association, Investigative Reporters & Editors, Society of Professional Journalists, and the National Union of Journalists (U.K.).