UTILITIES: A pair of lawsuits filed yesterday seek more than $1 billion in damages from PacificCorp, alleging utility negligence was responsible for destructive wildfires in Oregon last year. (Statesman Journal) 

ALSO:
• Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association is accused of “stonewalling” co-ops wanting to leave by refusing to calculate exit fees. (Colorado Sun)
• A California city votes to stay in a regional community choice program that has lost members. (Los Angeles Times)

NATURAL GAS:
• Colorado’s attorney general wants FERC to investigate reports that market traders made a $210 million windfall profit from increased natural gas prices during last month’s cold snap. (Colorado Sun)
• Colorado Springs approves a rate increase for its municipal utility ratepayers aiming to cover increased costs from buying high-priced gas to meet demand during last month’s extreme winter weather. (KRDO)

PUBLIC LANDS: Alaska U.S. Rep. Don Young introduces legislation that would require congressional approval to stop oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (news release)

EQUITY: A California environmental equity advocate says Gov. Newsom and state agencies need to take action on the oil and gas industry as promised, citing  a county’s recent approval of 40,500 new oil and gas wells. (Grist)

COAL: Workers at a New Mexico coal mine facing layoffs are increasingly pessimistic about the possibility of a carbon capture project at the San Juan Generating Station. (Farmington Daily Times)

HYDROPOWER: A Celilo Wy’am Native American advocate says an Columbia River dam has adversely impacted the way of life for the area’s Indigenous people. (Natural Resources Defense Council)

OIL & GAS:
• A new report finds that Colorado faces more than $8 billion in costs to clean up roughly 60,000 unplugged oil wells. (High Country News)
• Carlsbad, New Mexico approves a change to a city ordinance requiring petroleum companies to get permission before drilling near the city’s water well fields. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• A Colorado county is revising its oil and gas regulations over the next several months. (Reporter Herald) 

STORAGE:
• Groups opposing a contentious 100-MW solar and storage project approved by a Northern California county are planning a lawsuit. (Construction Review Online, Livermore Independent)
• PG&E says the 1,400MW of battery storage being deployed in its service area by 2023 will help the utility meet California’s renewable energy goals “while ensuring grid reliability.” (Energy Storage News)

TRANSPORTATION: Amazon says Washington’s proposed low-carbon fuel standard bill would be “a cost-effective strategy” to reduce emissions. (GeekWire)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A California startup says it will start producing a new compact electric pickup in 2023. (Reuters)

COMMENTARY:
• Idaho U.S. Representative Mike Simpson says a state lawmaker’s criticism of his plan to breach Snake River dams is “emotional” and misunderstands the details. (Idaho County Free Press)
• A Washington state climate advocate supports the state’s Clean Cars 2030 bill, and says electric vehicles can make the grid more resilient if managed strategically. (Energy News Network)

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.).