UTILITIES: PPL Corp. has officially purchased National Grid’s Rhode Island utility, Narragansett Electric Co., which will be renamed Rhode Island Energy. (Providence Business Journal)
ALSO:
• Thousands of Central Hudson Gas & Electric customers have been plagued by billing errors for months, leaving observers to question how and when the utility will be held accountable — and whether a public power authority would be a better idea. (The River)
• New York utilities tell the state utility regulator that a 2021 customer outage compensation law burdens them with “potentially unlimited financial obligations” without a cost recovery mechanism. (Utility Dive)
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CLEAN ENERGY:
• A new consortium will try to attract federal money to Vermont for clean energy, decarbonization and resiliency projects, hoping the state’s small size and collaborative culture are seen as assets. (Energy News Network)
• A new Maryland coffee roastery opts to use electricity instead of natural gas to roast its beans. (Technical.ly)
WIND: Utilities file plans with Massachusetts regulators for two offshore wind farms totaling 1,600 MW, an important step forward for the projects. (E&E News)
TRANSPORTATION:
• New Jersey regulators approve roughly $1.1 million in electric vehicle infrastructure grants to buy 233 chargers for dozens of communities. (The Press of Atlantic City)
• Some Annapolis, Maryland, residents want to know why public housing complexes and certain large private properties were excluded from a new e-scooter and e-bike micromobility program. (Baltimore Sun)
• New York City transportation officials bemoan the amount of time that federal officials are taking to approve their congestion pricing plan for parts of Manhattan. (NY Daily News)
SOLAR:
• A developer may appeal a Rhode Island town board’s rejection of their 300+ acre solar array to the state’s top court. (Providence Journal)
• A Maine planning board may extend a solar moratorium because it isn’t ready to present an ordinance codifying new solar project conditions. (Advertiser Democrat)
• A Boston-area art college plans a series of rooftop solar arrays that will offset most of its electricity needs and save around $1.3 million on utility bills over the life of the project. (Boston Globe)
• In Vermont, a retirement community is among the entities that will be powered by a new solar farm. (news release)
CLIMATE: New Hampshire already faces frequent flooding, and climate change will likely drive heavier rainfalls to the state’s growing population centers. (WMUR)
AFFORDABILITY: Facing high energy costs, roughly a tenth of all Maine residents are starting to keep their thermostats set to unsafe temperatures to try to offset the difference. (Bangor Daily News)
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