Trump slashes Bonneville Power Administration jobs

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UTILITIES

• The federal Bonneville Power Administration could lose up to 20% of its workforce to the Trump administration’s job cuts and hiring freeze, raising concerns about grid reliability in the Northwest. (OPB)

• A California lawmaker introduces legislation that would limit investor-owned utilities to one rate hike annually and tie increases to the Consumer Price Index. (KCRA)

• California consumer advocates criticize Pacific Gas & Electric for bringing in record-breaking profits while increasing customer rates. (Bay Area News Group)

• Pacific Gas & Electric worries the Los Angeles blaze’s fallout could drain California’s $21 billion utilities insurance fund, and urges officials to shore it up to reassure its corporate investors. (Bloomberg)

CLEAN ENERGY

A Washington state lawmaker introduces legislation that would require utilities to acquire 10% of their renewable power from distributed resources, saying it would preserve farmland while decarbonizing the grid. (Capital Press)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• The Trump administration’s funding freeze blocks Nevada from accessing $38 million in federal funding for electric vehicle chargers. (Nevada Current)

• U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican, introduces legislation that would kill the $7,500 federal electric vehicle tax credit and add a $1,000 tax on all EV sales. (electrek)

• California seeks applications for $55 million in state funds to install public electric vehicle fast-charging stations. (news release)

CLIMATE:

• Oregon officials say the Trump administration has blocked access to a $197 million federal climate pollution reduction grant aimed at cutting transportation, waste management and building-related greenhouse gas emissions. (OPB)

• A Nebraska bioethanol plant plans to ship carbon dioxide captured during production to Wyoming, where it would be geologically sequestered. (Midwest Messenger)

GRID

• Montana regulators launch a probe of NorthWestern Energy’s plan to supply two data centers with coal-fired generation and how it will affect the grid and customer rates. (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)

• An unusually severe winter storm batters utility equipment up and down the West Coast, leaving thousands of customers without power. (KOIN)

• A California tribal nation hires a startup to install a solar-powered microgrid with on-site hydrogen production and long-duration energy storage. (Microgrid Knowledge)

COMMENTARY:

A former Nevada lieutenant governor calls on lawmakers from both parties to protect federal clean energy funding for the state from Trump’s spending freezes, saying it has created 21,000 jobs and spawned $15 billion in investment. (Reno Gazette-Journal)