OVERSIGHT: Two Republican incumbents were leading in races for Georgia’s Public Service Commission with two of 159 precincts yet to report. See latest official results here. (Rome News-Tribune)
ALSO:
• A Republican incumbent on Oklahoma’s three-member utilities commission was leading by a comfortable margin. See latest official results here. (Oklahoman)
• A Republican candidate had a sizable lead for Texas Railroad Commissioner in a race that attracted national attention due to its climate stakes. See latest official results here. (Texas Tribune)
• Voters approve a change to Jacksonville’s charter that will allow the Florida city’s council members to appoint and remove members from the city-owned electric utility’s board of directors. (WJXT)
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OIL & GAS:
• Louisiana voters approve a ballot measure to adjust property tax rates on oil and gas wells based on whether they’re in production. (S&P Global)
• Shell considers closing a Louisiana oil refinery if it can’t find a buyer, as the company moves forward with a plan to consolidate its refineries from 14 sites to six by 2025. (The Advocate)
PIPELINES:
• The Mountain Valley Pipeline’s parent company says the project will now cost $6 billion, significantly higher than the $3.8 billion estimated in 2018, and delays its projected in-service date until the second half of 2021. (Roanoke Times)
• The Appalachian Regional Commission approves $1.5 million for improvements at a southern Virginia business center, including completion of a natural gas pipeline. (Virginia Business)
WIND: The new leader of a coastal Virginia planning district names the state’s offshore wind industry as one of her priorities. (Smithfield Times)
SOLAR:
• Florida regulators approve a 60 MW solar farm proposed by a Tampa utility. (News Service of Florida)
• Supervisors in a Mississippi county approve tax incentives for a $60 million solar project. (The Dispatch)
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TRANSITION: Texas’ “advanced energy” sector — which includes wind, solar, storage, energy efficiency and nuclear — was growing at twice the rate of the state labor market before the pandemic, and is holding up better than oil and gas now. (Dallas Morning News)
UTILITIES:
• Appalachian Power seeks to acquire 210 MW of solar and 200 MW of wind power over the next five years as it angles to meet standards set by a Virginia clean energy law passed earlier this year. (Kingsport Times-News)
• The board of Jacksonville’s utility, the largest community-owned electric utility in Florida, selects a new CEO. (Jacksonville Daily Record)