OIL & GAS: A federal judge in Wyoming rules the Biden administration’s oil and gas leasing pause was legal since it was intended to be a temporary reprieve for considering potential environmental impacts. (Reuters)

ALSO: Wyoming and federal officials plan to tap federal funds to plug and reclaim more than 2,300 orphaned oil and gas wells on state, private and public land. (WyoFile)

COAL:
• New Mexico regulators work on a rule that would limit power plant carbon emissions to 1,100 pounds per MWh and effectively block a firm’s bid to keep the San Juan coal plant running for years while it installs carbon capture equipment. (NM Political Report)
• Northern Cheyenne tribal officials call on regulators to require the Colstrip power plant’s operators to clean up the 800-acre coal ash facility in Montana — a project that could employ hundreds after the plant shuts down. (Energy News Network)  

HEAT WAVE:
• Southern Utah utilities urge residents to reduce electricity use in the afternoons as triple digit temperatures continue to strain the grid. (St. George News)
• San Diego Gas & Electric says high temperatures affected utility equipment this weekend, leaving more than 10,000 customers without power. (KGTV)
• Overheating transformers leave more than 22,000 PG&E customers without power in California’s Bay Area as all-time high temperature records are shattered. (San Francisco Chronicle)   
• California grid operators predict a prolonged heat wave will drive electricity demand up to record-high levels today as people return to work, potentially overloading the system. (Los Angeles Times)
• A severe windstorm damages a high-voltage transmission line in western Arizona, leaving more than 36,000 residents without power. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

UTILITIES:
• Researchers find Black, Latino and Indigenous households are at disproportionately high risk of having their power cut off due to nonpayment. (Grist)
• A southern California county calls for an independent investigation of a controversial community choice power authority, saying it will withdraw membership if it doesn’t agree to the review. (Voice of OC)
• Arizona’s largest utility says it will lean on new and existing nuclear power sources, battery storage and hydrogen-fueled power plants to become carbon free by 2050. (Arizona Daily Sun)
• A California jury awards a record payout to the victims of a 2015 Pacific Gas & Electric natural gas pipeline explosion. (Bakersfield Californian)

TRANSPORTATION:
• A Colorado electricity co-op and a California firm install fast electric vehicle chargers paired with battery storage in the state’s rural areas. (Big Pivots)
• California allocates $10 million for an incentive program aimed at helping low-income residents purchase electric bikes. (KPBS)   

HYDROPOWER:
• A California startup says its wave energy technology successfully concluded a 10-month pilot test and will now undergo further testing at an Oregon facility. (CleanTechnica)
• Federal officials say releasing extra water from upstream reservoirs will no longer be enough to keep Lake Powell’s levels from dropping below the minimum for power production. (Gazette)  

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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.