Top News
Mass., RI utilities to procure 1,200 MW of offshore wind projects
In separate decisions May 23, Massachusetts and Rhode Island officials selected Vineyard Wind LLC and Deepwater Wind, respectively, to provide them a combined 1,200-MW from two offshore wind energy facilities.
Drillers crowded out of Permian Basin find room for returns in Eagle Ford Shale
In April, the law firm Haynes and Boone LLP asked a group of oil and gas executives to pick the next big play in the U.S. The Eagle Ford Shale was the most popular choice on the belief that it would be best-suited for producers looking for future alternatives to the Permian Basin.
Regulatory targets, carbon capture drive coal sector lobbying in Q1
The U.S. coal industry targeted a familiar collection of regulatory goals with federal lobbying spending in the first quarter, while some companies pushed for carbon capture and export solutions to the sector's current challenges.
Power
* The clearing price in PJM Interconnection's 2021/2022 Base Residual Auction surged about 83% on the year to $140.00/MW-day at the RTO and most other zones.
* Environmental advocacy groups, including the Sierra Club, sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for not finalizing a water pollution permit for the 1,540-MW Four Corners coal plant in New Mexico. The suit, filed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, claims that the agency missed three permitting cycles to update the plant's permit.
* Vistra Energy Corp. said it cleared a total of 9,779 MW at a weighted average clearing price of $156.47 per megawatt-day in PJM Interconnection's annual auction for the year 2021 to 2022.
* The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly subpoenaed Santee Cooper, as part of an investigation into whether the South Carolina-owned utility "did enough to warn lenders" about troubles at the V.C. Summer V.C. Summer nuclear expansion project, The Post and Courier of Charleston, S.C., reported.
* The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed rules requiring that data from studies used to shape its regulations be made public as a means to ensure transparency, but some critics argue that rafts of scientific information crucial for safeguarding the environment and public health would be disqualified.
Natural gas/Oil
* Cheniere Energy Inc.'s commitment to expand its Corpus Christi LNG terminal may be the first of several announcements in 2018 that see U.S. LNG developers committing to a so-called second wave of natural gas export projects.
* Canada's National Energy Board has recommended that federal government approve a variance to the previously issued North Montney Mainline project certificate, which would allow construction to start on the proposed C$1.4 billion natural gas project in northeast British Columbia, TransCanada Corp. said in a statement.
* As activist investors step up their push for shareholder resolutions on climate change, often targeting energy companies for their emissions, some utilities have found ways to work with their investors and avoid or resolve major actions.
* Oklahoma regulators directed operators of three wastewater disposal wells to cease operations and another 21 to reduce injection volumes in the wake of the recent recent earthquake activity in the Crescent area of Logan County.
* The Army Corps of Engineers temporarily suspended parts of a permit required for building the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a move that could delay construction of the natural gas pipeline, according to the Sierra Club.
* The U.S. Bureau of Land Management will offer 166 parcels in Eureka, Lander and Nye counties, Nev., at its June 12 quarterly oil and gas lease sale. The BLM will hold the lease sale online.
Coal
* CSX Corp. President and CEO James Foote said the railroad is trying to come up with strategies that will prevent U.S. utilities from continuing to retire coal-fired power plants, even as a recent uptick in export demand has kept miners and rail providers busy.
* A West Virginia-based coal company accused of failing to make payments on its loans and fraudulently transferring assets to make a deal for two large Powder River Basin coal mines asked the court for relief because it paid when times were tough for the industry and received no response to attempts to change its payment plans for a fifth time.
Commodities
* After edging 0.6 cent higher to close at $2.914/MMBtu in the prior session, NYMEX June natural gas futures retained an upside bias overnight ahead of the Thursday, May 24, open, in positioning leading up to the midmorning release of the weekly storage data that is poised to show a slowdown in the pace of inventory rebuilding.
* The price of day-ahead power could be lifted Thursday, May 24, in line with mostly rising demand outlooks for Friday.

New from RRA
* A public utility law judge issued a proposed order in a proceeding in which the Maryland Public Service Commission is reviewing South Jersey Industries Inc.'s proposed acquisition of Pivotal Utility Holdings Inc. division Elkton Gas Co.
* On May 23, Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, signed into law a nuclear bill that provides economic support to certain nuclear plants that could otherwise be shut down, according to their owners, and a measure that expands the proliferation of renewable resources in the state.
* The Vermont Public Utility Commission is scheduled to hold a procedural conference on May 24 in Green Mountain Power Corp.'s pending electric rate proceeding, Case No. 18-0974-TF. A PUC decision is expected in December, with new rates to be implemented Jan. 1, 2019.
Quoted
"Instead of throwing stones, the scientific community should come together to offer practical suggestions to make the rule better," Robert Hahn, a visiting professor at Oxford University's Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, said regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposed new rule on the use of scientific data in studies. "The policy might not be perfect, but its benefits will likely far outweigh its costs."
The day ahead
* The EIA natural gas storage report is due out today.
* Early morning futures indicators pointed to a mixed 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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