How not to lower utility bills

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.

GRID

• FERC approves a proposal from the Southwest Power Pool to bring seven entities based in the West into its RTO, which will make it the first grid operator to provide transmission services across the Eastern and Western Interconnections. (E&E News)

• Utilities invested a record $8.8 billion in energy efficiency in 2023, with the majority going to electricity projects, a new ACEEE report finds. (Utility Dive)

FEDERAL FUNDING

• The U.S. Energy Department is preparing to withdraw potentially billions of dollars in Inflation Reduction Act funding for various clean energy projects including hydrogen hubs, carbon capture demonstrations, and long-duration storage. (E&E News)

• Six states join a lawsuit against Trump over the administration’s practice of revoking access to funds already appropriated by Congress. (New Haven Independent)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Illinois, Massachusetts, and other Democrat-led states are pushing forward with EV charger construction projects despite uncertainties surrounding federal funding. (Heatmap)

MINING

• President Trump signs an executive order tapping into his emergency powers to boost mining and production of uranium, copper, and other energy-critical materials. (E&E News)

CARBON CAPTURE

• Three European companies announce plans for a direct air carbon capture facility in Texas that would be powered by a wind farm. (E&E News)

BIOFUELS

• U.S. biofuel producers scale back production to minimize losses in the face of policy uncertainty and tariff threats from the Trump administration. (Reuters)

COMMENTARY

• Collaboration between labor unions and energy companies is essential to making sure there’s a workforce ready to build a more resilient and far-reaching power grid, a utility executive and a labor leader write. (Utility Dive)