UTILITIES: Vermont utility regulators reject a petition by the state’s largest private employer to form and manage its own electric utility — a move advocates warned would exempt the company from state climate laws. (VTDigger)

ALSO: Maine regulators open an investigation into how earnings considerations at both Central Maine Power and its parent company dictate management decisions — and vote to lift a huge financial penalty from CMP’s earnings levied over poor customer service at the same meeting. (WMTW, Associated Press, Bangor Daily News) 

NUCLEAR: As nuclear facilities across the Northeast shut down, natural gas increasingly fills power demand, causing emissions to rise. (E&E News)

FINANCE: The board managing Massachusetts’ more than $100 billion pension fund will pressure companies it’s invested in to take climate action. (Boston Globe)

PIPELINES: Construction wraps on Pennsylvania’s Mariner East gas pipeline — an environmentally destructive project that led the state attorney general to file 48 criminal charges against the builder. (WHYY)

OFFSHORE WIND: Eversource Energy tells investors it expects to spend up to $1 billion this year on its three offshore wind projects in the Northeast. (S&P Global)

CLIMATE:
• New York City’s new mayor dumps the compost expansion plan he promised during his campaign, even as environmental advocates say it’s crucial to mitigate food waste emissions. (Gothamist)
• Environmental advocates want New Jersey’s proposed cargo-handling equipment emissions rules to be stricter, while port and railroad terminal operators say the proposal as written would stymie ongoing reduction efforts. (RTO Insider, subscription)

CLEAN ENERGY: New Hampshire’s public advocate requests a hearing over the utility regulator’s decision to only enact half of a plan for using a $5 million clean energy fund. (New Hampshire Bulletin)

GRID:
• Strong winds lead to significant power outages across the Northeast; with over 75,000 Pennsylvanians without power this morning and tens of thousands more customers facing outages from New Jersey to Maine. (NBC Connecticut, PowerOutage.US)
• A major environmental group that initially supported a proposed transmission line to bring Québec hydropower to New York City has rescinded its support. (Bloomberg CityLab)

SOLAR: A Maine zoning appeals board confirms an earlier planning board’s approval of two solar arrays, respectively totaling 4.1 MW and 6.5 MW, despite concern from adjacent landowners. (Morning Sentinel)

AFFORDABILITY:
• Maine’s utility commission approves Gov. Janet Mills’ proposal to provide a single $90 utility bill credit for around 90,000 low-income ratepayers. (Kennebec Journal)
• A New York animal sanctuary says its ability to care for its creatures is threatened by a nearly $6,000 year-over-year increase in its January utility bill. (Daily Freeman)

GAS: New York City’s public house agency says cooking gas restoration was on track to wrap up yesterday at a complex that has been without gas for 11 months. (SI Live)

Bridget is a freelance reporter and newsletter writer based in the Washington, D.C., area. She compiles the Northeast Energy News digest. Bridget primarily writes about energy, conservation and the environment. Originally from Philadelphia, she graduated from Emerson College in 2015 with a degree in journalism and a minor in environmental studies. When she isn’t working on a story, she’s normally on a northern Maine lake or traveling abroad to practice her Spanish language skills.