Replacing gas pipes set to cost New Yorkers billions

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

FOSSIL FUELS

• New York utilities are poised to spend tens of billions to replace aging gas pipes in the coming decades, but electrifying neighborhoods rather than shoring up their gas systems could cut costs, according to a new report from a climate think tank. (New York Focus)

• Environmental advocates object to a Maryland bill that would pave the way for new natural gas power plants as it aims to lower prices by encouraging the development of more generation. (MarylandReporter.com)

• Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro demands swift federal action following a pipeline leak that spilled 6,500 gallons of jet fuel and contaminated drinking water, calling the incident the latest ​“in a long pattern of safety concerns.” (E&E News)

CLEAN ENERGY

• New Yorkers flood the state’s regulators with comments objecting to Con Edison’s proposed rate hikes that are intended to fund clean energy investments and grid modernization. (New York Times)

• Maine’s clean energy economy grew to $2.9 billion in 2023, spurred in part by some $800 million the state received from former President Biden’s signature infrastructure and inflation laws. (Portland Press Herald)

CLIMATE

• New York’s recently passed Climate Change Superfund Law will direct billions of dollars to disadvantaged neighborhoods that are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and help boost job creation, says an environmental advocate. (Inside Climate News/​Living on Earth)

• Even if the U.S. EPA undermines the basis for greenhouse gas regulations, Massachusetts’ laws and policies will continue to regulate emissions, says a former state energy official. (CommonWealth Beacon)

OFFSHORE WIND

• German offshore wind company RWE lays off 73 employees from its U.S. headquarters in Boston, citing the ​“current regulatory and political environment” in the country. (Boston Globe)

POWER PLANTS

• Community members and activists in Newark, New Jersey continue to fight plans for a new natural gas power plant, which would be the fourth in the immediate area, even though the facility has been given the go-ahead to begin construction. (Patch)

EFFICIENCY

• As Maine adopts a new building code with stringent guidelines for energy efficiency, builders worry the measures will add too much cost for too little energy-saving benefit. (Maine Monitor)

COMMENTARY

• Rhode Island should follow the lead of New York and Vermont by passing a bill that would require fossil fuel companies to pay for the damages caused by climate change and extreme weather events, say two climate advocates. (Boston Globe)

• Connecticut needs to do a better job listening to and respecting the opinions of its Hispanic population as the state grapples with high energy prices and controversy around its utilities regulators, says the chair of the National Hispanic Energy Council. (Hartford Courant)