New England businesses urge suspension of efficiency surcharges

EFFICIENCY: Business groups in Rhode Island and Connecticut urge temporary suspension of efficiency surcharges to provide companies financial relief; advocates say the move would cause further harm to the efficiency sector. (Energy News Network)

OIL & GAS:
• Environmentalists fear a new federal rule in response to New York’s rejection of an undersea pipeline on Clean Water Act grounds could revive projects already delayed or dropped. (InsideClimateNews)
• A federal judge delays sentencing of NiSource for a fatal gas explosion in Massachusetts in 2018 over questions about the plea agreement. (Reuters)
• The Baker administration will decide ​“sometime soon” how it will proceed after a federal court rejected its approval of a Massachusetts compressor station. (State House News Service, subscription required)

***SPONSORED LINK: Applications are now open for the Veterans Advanced Energy Fellowship, a yearlong program for high-performing, high-potential military veterans in advanced energy, presented by the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center. Learn more at www.vetsenergyproject.org/fellowship.***

CLIMATE: A Boston pastor through her environmental justice activism seeks to bring attention to the inequities suffered by people of color. (Reuters)

SOLAR: Solar advocates say using Geographic Imaging Systems in Massachusetts to map potential sites would put 90% of the state’s lands off-limits for development. (PV Magazine)

REGULATION: Rhode Island Senate committees quickly advance three nominees for top energy positions over the objections of environmental and social justice groups. (ecoRI)

GRID: Stakeholders in New York’s grid discuss proposed changes presented by the market monitor that come from its review of 2019 operations. (Platts)

SOLAR: A poultry company plants pollinator-friendly flowers as ground cover around a solar array at its Maryland headquarters as research indicates their presence increases yields on chicken feed crops like soybeans. (Perishable News)

***SPONSORED LINK: Do you know someone who works hard to facilitate the transition to a clean energy economy? Nominate yourself or someone you know for Energy News Network’s 40 Under 40 today.***

TECHNOLOGY: The New York Power Authority develops an innovation lab to advance its grid modernization program. (T&D World)

COMMENTARY: A utility executive and consumer advocate promote a program to help customers in financial stress manage their unpaid bills that is already in place in Connecticut and other states. (Utility Dive)