California bans the sale of natural gas heaters

ELECTRIFICATION: California regulators approve a ban on the sale of residential and commercial natural gas heaters by 2030. (San Francisco Chronicle)

GRID: A Stanford study finds California electric vehicle owners should shift from overnight to daytime charging — when solar output is at its maximum — to reduce grid strain. (San Francisco Chronicle)

UTILITIES:
• California researchers find the state’s high electricity rates disproportionately affect low-income households and could hurt efforts to electrify transportation and buildings. (Utility Dive)
• Pacific Gas & Electric officials say new leadership and a reformed corporate culture have made its grid safer and less apt to spark wildfires. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Colorado’s utility consumer advocate calls an expected 54% jump in Xcel Energy natural gas bills this winter ​“frightening.” (Colorado Sun)

COAL: A fire continues to burn in Utah’s most productive coal mine, forcing the cessation of mining and evacuation of all of the workers. (Salt Lake Tribune)

OIL & GAS:
• A federal judge approves a $230 million settlement by the owners of a pipeline that spilled more than 140,000 gallons of oil off California’s coast in 2015. (Associated Press)
• Industry lawyers urge Colorado’s Supreme Court to reject a county’s bid to gain control over idled oil and gas leases, saying it could invalidate leases statewide. (Denver Gazette)
• Alaska residents each receive a record high dividend of more than $3,000 from the state’s oil-wealth investment fund. (Associated Press)
• The oil and gas industry launches an effort to get California voters to rescind a new state law requiring 3,200-foot setbacks between oil and gas wells and sensitive properties. (E&E News, subscription)
• A New Mexico economist urges state lawmakers to diversify the economy to reduce over-reliance on oil and gas revenues and buffer against price volatility. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)

SOLAR:
• A study links rooftop solar to water conservation, finding a rooftop array on a California home can save 53,000 gallons of water annually that would otherwise be used for extracting fossil fuels or cooling power plants. (news release)
• California utilities and advocates say it’s time to move beyond the net metering debate and find other ways to more equitably encourage rooftop solar. (Utility Dive)
• A Washington county seeks public input on two 80 MW solar facilities proposed for private land. (Yakima Herald-Republic)

MICROGRIDS: California’s judicial court system seeks bids to develop microgrids for 32 of its courthouses and other facilities. (Microgrid Knowledge)

CRITICAL MINERALS: Environmental advocates urge federal lawmakers to reform outdated mining laws in preparation for an expected surge of demand for minerals used in electric vehicles and clean energy applications. (Grist)