Advocates want to shrink FirstEnergy’s profits after scandal

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UTILITIES

• Ohio’s consumer advocate wants state regulators to slash FirstEnergy’s rate of return on equity in its latest rate increase as a penalty for the company’s central role in the HB 6 corruption scandal. (Canary Media)

• Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signs a bill that allows utilities to charge ratepayers for power plants before they’re completed, which critics say will hike bills while favoring construction of natural gas plants. (St. Louis Public Radio)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Jeff Bezos is quietly funding a Michigan-headquartered startup that could begin production next year on an affordable two-seat electric pickup truck starting at $25,000. (TechCrunch)

CLIMATE

• President Trump signs an executive order that signals the Justice Department could file legal challenges to state climate and clean energy laws that purportedly threaten ​“American energy dominance.” (Associated Press)

RENEWABLES

• A North Dakota GOP Congress member plans to introduce legislation today that would phase out Inflation Reduction Act tax credits for wind and solar by the end of the decade. (E&E News)

GRID

• An Illinois bill would require data centers to report annual energy and water use to Illinois regulators to determine whether residential ratepayers are subsidizing the large power users. (Medill Illinois News Bureau)

• Wisconsin Republicans are divided over a reintroduced bill that would give in-state utilities first rights to build transmission projects, with supporters saying it will increase competition more than a previous bill, but critics saying it would raise electricity prices. (Wisconsin Public Radio)

NATURAL GAS

• Local Nebraska officials are optimistic they’ll be able to regain access to millions of dollars in federal grants for gas infrastructure replacement projects, but express frustration with the Trump administration over delays and potentially higher costs. (Flatwater Free Press)

• Ann Arbor, Michigan, has a new gas franchise agreement with DTE Energy that will rely more on geothermal and is the first in the nation to include emissions reduction goals. (WEMU)

STORAGE

• Alliant Energy expects to have a 280 MW battery storage facility operational by the end of 2026 near a retired Iowa coal plant. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

PIPELINES

• Cleanup of this week’s Keystone pipeline spill in North Dakota could take about a month as muddy conditions complicate spill response. (KVRR)

• Environmental groups’ challenge to Wisconsin’s approval of a Line 5 reroute plan could ultimately reach the state Supreme Court, where Democratic-backed judges will have a majority at least until 2028. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

MATERIALS

• U.S. Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota introduces a bill to ban copper-nickel mining on federal land near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, similar to a proposal in the House, though the bills are unlikely to gain traction in the Republican-controlled chambers. (Forum News Service)

SOLAR

• A small western Michigan municipal utility adds 2.2 MW of solar to its portfolio through a power purchase agreement with a new in-state solar project. (WGHN)

NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA

• President Trump’s coal executive order includes a plan to give the U.S. Energy Department the authority to force any power plant to stay open, Jeff St. John reports.

• Home battery startup Base Power secures another $200 million from investors as it starts building a U.S. factory and looks to sell outside of Texas, Julian Spector reports.