Vineyard Wind’s GE contract continues — for now

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.

WIND

• A Massachusetts judge temporarily blocks GE Renewables from pulling out of its turbine maintenance contracts with Vineyard Wind. (Associated Press)

• TotalEnergies’ CEO defends his firm’s deal with the Trump administration to cancel offshore wind leases:​“If you have a change in the administration every four years and they change their minds, you invest every four years, you stop, it doesn’t work. I cannot do that.” (Axios)

UTILITIES

• A growing number of utility executives in the PJM Interconnection and beyond want to play a more direct role in power procurement in hopes of keeping consumer prices from rising. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

• FERC extends the deadline for New England utilities to calculate and pay refunds to customers after the commission ruled regional transmission owners made ​“unjust and unreasonable” profits over the past 25 years. (Maine Morning Star)

GRID

• Residents along the proposed route of a transmission line that would run from West Virginia to Pennsylvania’s Perry County raise aesthetic, environmental, and other concerns. (PennLive)

• Utility watchdogs oppose financial incentives for the same power line, saying they would burden customers in the name of ​“needless corporate welfare.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

• Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection seeks public input on its plans to rebuild a 500-kV transmission line that would connect to a substation at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant. (PA Environment Digest)

FOSSIL FUELS

• A father and son sue New York over its ban on fracking, saying the prohibition amounts to unfair taking by the government and limits their ability to use their property. (E&E News)

• The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection fines a gas peaker plant for emissions violations. (WAMC)

• Liberty Utilities denies a New Hampshire man a gas hookup for a Lakes Region historic building turned condo, saying it lacks the capacity to add new customers. (Concord Monitor)

EFFICIENCY

• Maryland is on track to pass a law that would weaken its energy-efficiency program by cutting its emissions-reduction rules — a move that advocates say will cost residents in the long run. (WYPR)

NEW FROM CANARY

• As utility costs rise, can​‘background’ smart thermostats offer relief? — Jeff St. John

• Tiny North Carolina town takes a big step toward geothermal energy — Elizabeth Ouzts

• Battery recycling still isn’t easy. Just ask Ascend Elements. — Julian Spector