Top News
Calif. regulators approve $738M for electric vehicle charging
California's three large investor-owned utilities can spend $738 million on electric vehicle charging and related infrastructure after the state's Public Utilities Commission on May 31 approved four new programs collectively touted as the largest such utility investment in the United States to date.
Appalachian gas drillers banking on NGL price improvements for cash flow goals
Natural gas liquids prices for Appalachia's top shale drillers continued to rise through the early months of 2018 and companies are making NGL production a key part of their strategy to improve free cash flow.
State lawmakers gather alongside industry to plan future for coal technology
Aiding the Trump administration in its effort to revitalize the U.S. coal industry was the focus of a coalition of lawmakers from southern states gathered in a hotel conference room during a coal industry meeting in Tennessee.
China buys relatively little US coal, but talks may result in export boost
U.S. coal exports are reportedly being considered as a path to reducing the country's international trade deficit with China, and a state that solidly backs President Donald Trump might particularly stand to benefit.
Quoted
"The U.S. now leaves us with no choice but to proceed with a WTO dispute settlement case and with the imposition of additional duties on a number of imports from the U.S.," said Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, in a statement responding to new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on steel and aluminum imports from the European Union, Canada and Mexico.
Power
* Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. executives said they believe two nuclear plants they own and operate in their home state of New Jersey have an advantage over other regional nuclear facilities in complying with a new state law.
* The U.S. Department of Energy is planning to issue an order that would push grid operators to purchase electricity from struggling nuclear and coal power facilities to extend their operating life, Bloomberg News reported, citing a memo. The agency also plans to set up a "Strategic Electric Generation Reserve" to boosts domestic energy supplies.
* Toshiba Corp. has decided to withdraw from the planned expansion of the South Texas Project, saying the nuclear power project has ceased to be financially viable under current and expected economic conditions.
* Wisconsin Public Service Corp. and Madison Gas and Electric Co. are seeking approval from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to jointly own 300 MW of solar projects in the state. The projects are being developed by Invenergy Clean Power LLC and NextEra Energy Resources LLC. The projects are estimated to cost approximately $390 million.
* Avangrid Inc. has reportedly lost interest in building the planned 100-MW North Ridge Wind Project in Hopkinton, N.Y., after the recent passage of wind energies law that limited the construction of the wind facility, the Watertown (N.Y.) Daily Times reported.
* The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is seeking public input on NextEra Energy Inc.'s 250-MW Yellow Pine Solar facility in Clark County, Nev. The 90-day comment period began will end Aug. 28. A notice of intent to compose an environmental impact statement and a notice of segregation for the project will be published in the federal register on June 1.
* New York is investing $250 million into new electric vehicle infrastructure to support EV adoption by consumers. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the funding initiative — which is known as Evolve NY and seeks to expand public adoption of EVs as well as create private-public partnerships through 2025 to support EV growth — on May 31.
Natural gas
* A record 9% increase in U.S. demand for natural gas this summer, driven largely by gas-fired power coming online coupled with growing LNG exports, will have little impact on gas prices this summer, the Natural Gas Supply Association forecast in a May 31 report.
* U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., is calling on Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to clarify his statement that Florida would be "off the table" to new offshore oil drilling. The "recent statements by you [Zinke] and [Florida Gov. Rick Scott] continue to suggest that a deal to maintain the current moratorium never existed," Nelson wrote in a letter to Zinke.
* The U.S. Bureau of Land Management will offer 24 parcels totaling 4,152.10 acres in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas at its June 7 quarterly oil and gas lease sale. The BLM will hold the lease sale online. Bidding will begin at 8 a.m. MT.
* FERC granted Rover Pipeline LLC permission to start service on some of the last pieces of its 511-mile natural gas pipeline project, which will deliver gas supplies from the Marcellus and Utica shales through the Midwest.
* Southwest Gas Corp. filed a request with Nevada regulators for a general rate increase of approximately $32.5 million. Separately, the utility received approval from the state Public Utilities Commission to invest about $28 million to extend natural gas service to Mesquite, Nev.
Oil
* Royal Dutch Shell PLC unit Shell Offshore Inc. said production at the first phase of a subsea development project in the Gulf of Mexico is underway about one year ahead of schedule.
* The Alberta Energy Regulator imposed a fine of C$180,000 on ConocoPhillips Canada Ltd. in connection with a pipeline leak that resulted in the fatalities of 38 unspecified species of wildlife and hundreds of potential wildlife deaths in a remote area of northwestern Alberta in 2016, The Canadian Press reported.
Coal
* A federal court denied the state of Washington's motion to dismiss a case challenging the denial of necessary permits for a proposed coal export facility, clearing the way for the suit to proceed.
* Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and others from Western states, are blaming Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee for "unfairly" blocking coal projects, including a proposed coal export terminal in Longview, The Associated Press reported.
* Alliance Resource Partners LP and Alliance Holdings GP LP have completed their planned merger through a series of transactions. Alliance Holdings is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Alliance Resource.
* DPL Inc. has shut down its 1,755-MW J.M. Stuart and 618-MW Killen coal-fired generating facilities in Adams County, Ohio, as a result of declining market conditions. The company said it is "proactively" managing the transition, including being redeployed within AES Corp.'s portfolio.
ChartWatch

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Order 1000, with some utilities praising the rule for increasing competition to build new power lines and others saying it has spurred few new projects.
New from RRA
* June is expected to be active in the regulatory arena for the electric and natural gas utilities. Testimony is expected to be filed in June in 11 of the 86 pending rate cases followed by Regulatory Research Associates, an offering of S&P Global Market Intelligence.
The day ahead

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