ELECTRIFICATION: California regulators approve a ban on the sale of residential and commercial natural gas heaters by 2030. (San Francisco Chronicle)

GRID: A Stanford study finds California electric vehicle owners should shift from overnight to daytime charging — when solar output is at its maximum — to reduce grid strain. (San Francisco Chronicle)

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UTILITIES:
• California researchers find the state’s high electricity rates disproportionately affect low-income households and could hurt efforts to electrify transportation and buildings. (Utility Dive)
• Pacific Gas & Electric officials say new leadership and a reformed corporate culture have made its grid safer and less apt to spark wildfires. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Colorado’s utility consumer advocate calls an expected 54% jump in Xcel Energy natural gas bills this winter “frightening.” (Colorado Sun)

COAL: A fire continues to burn in Utah’s most productive coal mine, forcing the cessation of mining and evacuation of all of the workers. (Salt Lake Tribune)

OIL & GAS:
• A federal judge approves a $230 million settlement by the owners of a pipeline that spilled more than 140,000 gallons of oil off California’s coast in 2015. (Associated Press)
• Industry lawyers urge Colorado’s Supreme Court to reject a county’s bid to gain control over idled oil and gas leases, saying it could invalidate leases statewide. (Denver Gazette)
• Alaska residents each receive a record high dividend of more than $3,000 from the state’s oil-wealth investment fund. (Associated Press)
• The oil and gas industry launches an effort to get California voters to rescind a new state law requiring 3,200-foot setbacks between oil and gas wells and sensitive properties. (E&E News, subscription)
• A New Mexico economist urges state lawmakers to diversify the economy to reduce over-reliance on oil and gas revenues and buffer against price volatility. (Carlsbad Current-Argus) 

SOLAR:
• A study links rooftop solar to water conservation, finding a rooftop array on a California home can save 53,000 gallons of water annually that would otherwise be used for extracting fossil fuels or cooling power plants. (news release)  
• California utilities and advocates say it’s time to move beyond the net metering debate and find other ways to more equitably encourage rooftop solar. (Utility Dive)
• A Washington county seeks public input on two 80 MW solar facilities proposed for private land. (Yakima Herald-Republic)

MICROGRIDS: California’s judicial court system seeks bids to develop microgrids for 32 of its courthouses and other facilities. (Microgrid Knowledge)

CRITICAL MINERALS: Environmental advocates urge federal lawmakers to reform outdated mining laws in preparation for an expected surge of demand for minerals used in electric vehicles and clean energy applications. (Grist)

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Jonathan hails from southwestern Colorado and has been writing about the land, cultures, and communities of the Western United States for more than two decades. He compiles the Western Energy News digest. He is the author of three books, a contributing editor at High Country News, and the editor of the Land Desk, an e-newsletter that provides coverage and context on issues critical to the West.