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PG&E accused of causing 3 wildfires; protests, lawsuits may dog Trans Mountain

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PG&E accused of causing 3 wildfires; protests, lawsuits may dog Trans Mountain

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California cites PG&E power line clearance violations as cause of 3 wildfires

Forestry investigators accused Pacific Gas and Electric Co. of violating a tree-clearance regulation in three incidents where a tree or tree branches contacted or knocked down power lines that contributed to the October 2017 wildfires that swept across Northern California.

Protests, lawsuits may dog Trans Mountain even after Canadian federal takeover

A move by Canada to nationalize Kinder Morgan Inc.'s Trans Mountain pipeline network will keep an associated C$7.4 billion expansion project alive, although the nation's energy minister admitted that the deal will not end political disputes and environmental protests that have hampered its development.

RBS to cease direct financing to some coal mining, power companies

Britain's Royal Bank of Scotland joined a growing number of financial institutions that are moving away from coal after it announced May 29 that it will no longer directly finance new coal-fired power stations or thermal coal mines.

Power

* The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President George W. Bush has sharply criticized current administrator Scott Pruitt, accusing him of prioritizing the health of industries over the health of the public.

* FirstEnergy Solutions Corp. hired Jeff Miller to lobby the Trump administration on "issues related to grid resilience," before it formally asked the U.S. Department of Energy in late March to issue an emergency order that would require PJM Interconnection to compensate at-risk coal-fired and nuclear power plants in the region, Bloomberg News reported. Miller was formerly an aide to Energy Secretary Rick Perry.

* EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt plans to retain the current primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for sulfur dioxide, citing the most recent science and advice from the agency's science advisory panel.

* Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy announced a $15 million investment to revitalize the New London State Pier for potential use in the deployment of seven offshore wind projects.

* South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson is seeking an injunction from a federal court to stop the federal government from shutting down the mixed oxide fuel project at the Savannah River Site. The project was intended to dispose surplus weapons-grade plutonium by converting it into mixed oxide fuel for use in commercial nuclear reactors.

Natural gas/Oil

* At the Master Limited Partnership Association's annual meeting, the fate of the master limited partnership itself was on the agenda.

* Alberta is committing up to C$2 billion to cover Trans Mountain expansion pipeline project costs arising from "unforeseen circumstances," the Vancouver Sun reported. However, the province's commitment would only be paid when the project is complete.

* The fight between SandRidge Energy Inc. and activist investor Carl Icahn went another round, with the company's leadership sending a letter urging shareholders asking them to reject Icahn's slate of director nominees after Icahn said the board incumbents would make "poor decisions."

* Calgary, Alberta-based oil and gas company Crescent Point Energy Corp. has named Craig Bryksa as interim president and CEO, succeeding Scott Saxberg. Bryksa will also replace Saxberg as a board director of the company, as part of a transformation plan.

* Environmental activist group Friends of the Earth plans to sue Royal Dutch Shell PLC for allegedly failing to act on climate change, Reuters reported.

Coal

* China is mulling over a plan to purchase more coal from the U.S. in a bid to slash its $375 billion merchandise trade deficit and ease the ongoing trade war between the two nations, Bloomberg News reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

* American banks are again lending money to coal companies that are now out of bankruptcy, The New York Times reported, citing an analysis by liberal environmental group Rainforest Action Network.

* BHP Billiton Group's and Mitsubishi Corp.'s joint venture in Australia, the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance, agreed to sell the Gregory Crinum hard coking coal project to Japan's Sojitz Corp. for A$100 million.

* The West Virginia Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training issued three notices of violation to Revelation Energy LLC after a bulldozer slipped at its S7 Surface Mine in Fayette County and resulted in the death of the driver, the Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette-Mail reported.

* Ohio Gov. John Kasich's administration diverted a fifth of the Reclamation Forfeiture Fund to balance the state's budget amid the rising risk of coal mine closures, the Midwest Energy News reported.

Commodities

* Term power markets across the U.S., especially those located in Texas, moved higher during the week ended May 25 as traders considered an increase in fueling costs implied by gains in natural gas futures and elevated demand signaled by weather forecasts.

* Taking the lead from the June gas contract that rolled off the board in the prior session with a 6.4-cent decline to finish at $2.875/MMBtu, NYMEX July natural gas futures were near unchanged overnight ahead of the Wednesday, May 30, open amid indecisive fundamentals.

* Next-day power values could vary Wednesday, May 30, in line with mixed demand projections for Thursday. In terms of natural gas, the new front-month July futures contract at the NYMEX was holding near unchanged at $2.902/MMBtu shortly after 6:35 a.m. ET after losing 6.0 cents in the prior day.

* Following weakness earlier in the month, secondary market prices for California carbon allowances rebounded during the week ended May 29 following the latest quarterly auction.

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New from RRA

* In testimony filed on May 25, the staff of the New York Public Service Commission recommended that the PSC authorize Orange and Rockland Utilities Inc. a $10.6 million, or 2.3%, electric rate increase and require the company to reduce gas rates by $6.7 million, or negative 2.9%.

Quoted

"It's a big relief to know that this harmful proposal will not be pursued," Republican U.S. Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Jaime Herrera Butler, Dan Newhouse and Dave Reichert, all from Washington, said in a statement applauding the U.S. Department of Energy's announcement that it will not pursue its proposed sale of Bonneville Power Administration's power lines.

The day ahead

* NGL Energy Partners LP will hold its fiscal 2018 fourth-quarter earnings call at 6 p.m. ET.

* Early morning futures indicators pointed to a lower opening for the U.S. equity markets. To view more SNL equity market indexes, click here. To view more SNL Energy commodities prices, click here.

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