Could nuclear power cut costs in New England?

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Northeast Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.

NUCLEAR

• Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) will host a regional summit to look at whether advanced nuclear technologies can cut down on energy costs. (Greenfield Recorder/ State House News Service)

• New Hampshire’s consumer advocate is ​“extremely skeptical” of a merger between NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy that would consolidate ownership of New England’s two nuclear plants, though Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) has not joined neighboring states in opposing the plan. (New Hampshire Bulletin)

GRID

• More than 50 GW of capacity — largely solar, wind, and batteries — has been approved in the PJM grid territory, but now it’s up to the states and utilities to make sure the projects get built. (Canary Media)

• Grid operator PJM takes a second shot at a reform that would allow new power generators to connect to the grid using the spare capacity available at existing facilities. (Utility Dive)

• Federal regulators decline a request by Maine’s public advocate to investigate whether Eversource and National Grid made prudent decisions involving grid repair and upgrade projects. (RTO Insider)

AFFORDABILITY

• Rhode Island utility regulators approve smaller electricity and gas rate hikes than the state’s dominant utility requested. (Providence Journal)

• Connecticut and Vermont residents who heat their homes with oil are preparing for an expensive winter as the Iran conflict continues to cause volatile prices. (NBC Connecticut, VTDigger)

DATA CENTERS

• Jersey City, New Jersey, becomes the latest municipality in the state to ban data centers, bringing the total to more than 30. (News12 New York)

• Federal regulators approve the preliminary permit application for a widely opposed, $100 million underwater data center in the waters of far-northern Maine. (Maine Monitor)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Nearly one half of Maryland’s ZIP codes do not have any public EV chargers, and another 25% have four or fewer. (Maryland Matters)