ELECTRICITY: ComEd customers in smaller Chicago households could pay 1 to 2 cents more per kilowatt-hour for electricity than wealthier suburban customers after a new rate increase takes effect next year. (Crain’s Chicago Business)
EFFICIENCY: In Minnesota, a change to the state’s energy savings statute aims to make conservation a part of future resource planning discussions, and economists ask: how much efficiency is actually possible? (Midwest Energy News, Washington Post)
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EMISSIONS: The Obama administration is attempting again to put a dollar figure on the “social cost of carbon,” and a new Harvard study finds pregnant women exposed to high levels of diesel particulates or mercury were twice as likely to have an autistic child. (The New York Times, Bloomberg)
KEYSTONE XL: TransCanada doesn’t plan to use the most advanced leak-detection technology and instead will rely on software and traditional flyovers and surveys to detect spills. (Bloomberg Businessweek)
NATURAL GAS: Michigan authorities are blaming “human error” for an explosion last week that critically injured a truck driver after his vehicle struck a natural gas line. (MLive.com)
FRACKING: The politics behind Illinois’ new fracking law, “like the science, is all about pressure: economic pressure.” Drilling interests have reportedly bought up more than $100 million worth of land leases already. (St. Louis Post Dispatch)
FRAC SAND: Minnesota’s Goodhue County approved two frac sand mining ordinances that will address dust, noise, residential setbacks and hours of operation after a moratorium expires later this summer. (Minnesota Public Radio)
SMART METERS: An Ann Arbor group is appealing a decision by Michigan utility regulators to let DTE Energy install “radio-disabled advanced meters” for customers who opt-out of smart meter service. (AnnArbor.com)
COMMENTARY: Illinois’ new fracking law is “a floor” but “not adequate,” says a lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Council, while others conclude that the legislation “should do its job.” (Mother Jones, The Southern)