A pipeline of misinformation

This roundup of U.S. energy news headlines is part of our Canary Media Daily newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each morning.

UTILITIES

• Household power bills have risen 10% since President Trump entered the White House, a report from advocacy group Climate Power finds, and pro-fossil fuel policies enacted in the months since will only continue to raise prices. (The Guardian)

• States in the PJM Interconnection region are considering measures that would undo rules prohibiting utilities from owning power plants, an idea consumer advocates say would boost utilities’ profits without providing any benefits for customers. (Inside Climate News)

• NorthWestern Energy proposes merging with Black Hills Corp., saying the combined utility would serve 2.1 million customers across eight states and would be better positioned to meet rising power demand. (Cowboy State Daily)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Ford and SK On begin producing EV batteries at their joint $5.8 billion BlueOval SK Battery Park, one week before workers there are set to vote on whether to unionize with the United Auto Workers. (Courier-Journal)

• Wood Mackenzie predicts U.S. EV sales and public fast charger deployment will continue to grow through 2040 despite Trump administration setbacks. (Utility Dive)

EMISSIONS

• Democratic state attorneys general urge the Trump administration to reconsider its plan to repeal the EPA’s finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health. (Reuters)

• California regulators release a report outlining ways the state can continue to cut vehicle emissions, and promise to accelerate clean air efforts even as the federal government attempts to derail them. (The Hill)

FOSSIL FUELS

• The Interior Department announces plans to hold 30 auctions for offshore drilling rights over the next 15 years, as mandated by the one Big Beautiful Bill. (E&E News)

• Gulf Coast residents near oil and gas facilities use a ​“death by a thousand cuts” strategy of opposition to fight back against the buildout of liquified natural gas export terminals that has accelerated under the Trump administration. (Floodlight)

• Two unprofitable and aging coal plants along the Ohio River that no longer receive direct ratepayer subsidies are still bound by a contract through a utility consortium that will keep the plant open for 15 years. (E&E News)

• The Texas state auditor finds state oil and gas inspectors aren’t adequately verifying or holding natural gas operators to winter weatherization standards that were mandated after the 2021 winter storm. (KUT)

SOLAR

• Meta announces an $800 million planned AI data center will rely in part on power from a 100 MW solar farm in South Carolina owned and operated by Silicon Ranch. (Latitude Media)

• In New Jersey, 33 large-scale, shovel-ready solar projects totaling more than 500 megawatts are at risk of becoming financially unviable if they lose planned-for federal tax credits while they wait for approval from grid operator PJM. (Gothamist)

GRID

• A California test of more than 100,000 residential batteries coordinated as a virtual power plant revealed that their output rivaled a mid-size gas plant and that they can help offset peak power demand. (Latitude Media)

MINING

• Southeast Utah residents push back on a copper, uranium, and lithium mining resurgence, saying it could contaminate or diminish groundwater. (E&E News)