Thursday, October 31, 2019

Energy News Digest for October 31, 2019


The Hot Shots edition of The Energy News Digest is available on Facebook, and on Twitter.

To subscribe to the Energy News Digest, email jmyer@masonpud3.org.

SHELTON FORECAST & WEATHER ALERTS




HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Wall Street Spends Millions to Buy Up Washington State Water (Seattle Times, WA – Paywall Advisory)

Puget Sound Energy Natural Gas Customers Will See 14 Percent Rate Increase Nov. 1 (Olympian, WA – Paywall Advisory)

Republicans, Outraged by No Dam-Breaching Session in Tri-Cities, Get Their Way (Tri-City Herald, WA)

Plan Mulls Killing More Sea Lions to Save Salmon (Courthouse News Service)

Tacoma's Click! Network One Step Closer to Becoming a Private-Public Partnership (KING TV, Seattle, WA)

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

1.      Puget Sound Energy Natural Gas Customers Will See 14 Percent Rate Increase Nov. 1
2.      Average Avista Customer to See Nearly 15% Gas Rate Increase
3.      Republicans, Outraged by No Dam-Breaching Session in Tri-Cities, Get Their Way
4.      Lower Snake River Dam Breaching Hearings Set for Early 2020
5.      Grant PUD Finishes Third Quarter in the Black
6.      Clallam PUD to Raise Water, Sewer, Electric Rates
7.      Chehalis School District Superintendent Ed Rothlin Appointed to Lewis PUD Commission
8.      Public Power Utilities Earn Smart Energy Provider Designation- Includes Mason PUD 3, Clark Public Utilities, Snohomish PUD, Tacoma Power
9.      Online Bill Pay for Chehalis Utility Customers to Start Early Next Year
10.   California Governor Calls on Warren Buffett to Purchase Bankrupt Pacific Gas & Electric
11.   California: Pacific Gas & Electric Agrees to Credit Customers for Blackouts, Gov. Newsom Says
12.   Wyoming: Lower Valley Energy Cuts Ribbon on New Transmission Line
13.   Central Lincoln PUD – Local Lineman One of the Best
14.   Plan Mulls Killing More Sea Lions to Save Salmon
15.   Projects Help Fish Habitat in Upper Yakima Basin
16.   Could Columbia River Sturgeon Become a Source of High-End Caviar? The Yakama Nation Is Counting on It
17.   Fish Woes Debated by Salmon Panelists
18.   New Fisher Agreements Boost Conservation on 2 Million Acres in Oregon
19.   Wall Street Spends Millions to Buy Up Washington State Water
20.   REC Silicon to Double Down on Moses Lake Investment
21.   Report Debunks Contention That Increased Renewables Worsen Air Quality
22.   Most Pumped Storage Electricity Generators in the U.S. Were Built in the 1970s
23.   For Best Climate Impact, Put Renewables in the U.S. Midwest: Study
24.   Meet Carrie Nelson, Low Income Energy Efficiency Grant Program
25.   Washington State Begins Developing New Standard for Sustainable Buildings
26.   Tacoma's Click! Network One Step Closer to Becoming a Private-Public Partnership
27.   Grant PUD Commissioner Says on Pace to Being First Large Rural County in U.S. to Have Widespread Fiber Connectivity
28.   British Columbia Would Need at Least Double the Power to Electrify Ground Transportation by 2055: Study
29.   California’s Blackouts Could Make Fighting Climate Change Even Harder
30.   Electric Utilities Can’t Blame Wildfires Solely on Climate, Experts Say
31.   Twitter Drops All Political Ads in Shot at Zuckerberg
32.   It’s the End of California as We Know It
33.   How to Die a Good, Green Death
34.   Pair of Controversial Ninth Circuit Picks Grilled by Senators
35.   Olympia Stands Behind Its ‘Vote NO’ Mailer -- ‘Although Minds May Differ’
36.   Modernizing Congress to Meet Public Expectation – See Congressman Kilmer at Work
37.   Hunt Is on for Location for Additional Commercial Airport for Puget Sound Region
38.   Mason County Unemployment Drops in September
39.   Shelton Man Arrested After Speeding Down I-5 At 111 MPH “…I’m a dumbass…”
40.   'Nation's Report Card' Show Declines in Oregon, Washington State, & Nationally

41.   NCAA Decision Paves Way for Washington State Legislation to Pay College Athletes

WORD OF THE DAY THE HORRIBLE HAIKU EDITION

Phantasm /FAN-taz-zum/ Noun – 1: a product of fantasy: as a: delusive appearance: illusion b: ghost, specter c: a figment of the imagination 2: a mental representation of a real object.

Phantasm attack
Trick-or-treaters flood the streets
Specters of the night


ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

1.    Puget Sound Energy Natural Gas Customers Will See 14 Percent Rate Increase Nov. 1 (Olympian, WA – Paywall Advisory)

2.    Average Avista Customer to See Nearly 15% Gas Rate Increase (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA)

3.    Republicans, Outraged by No Dam-Breaching Session in Tri-Cities, Get Their Way (Tri-City Herald, WA)

4.    Lower Snake River Dam Breaching Hearings Set for Early 2020 (Washington Ag Network)

5.    Grant PUD Finishes Third Quarter in the Black (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)

6.    Clallam PUD to Raise Water, Sewer, Electric Rates (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

7.    Chehalis School District Superintendent Ed Rothlin Appointed to Lewis PUD Commission (The Chronicle, Centralia, WA)

8.    Public Power Utilities Earn Smart Energy Provider Designation- Includes Mason PUD 3, Clark Public Utilities, Snohomish PUD, Tacoma Power (American Public Power Association)

9.    Online Bill Pay for Chehalis Utility Customers to Start Early Next Year (KELA Radio, Centralia, WA)

10. California Governor Calls on Warren Buffett to Purchase Bankrupt Pacific Gas & Electric (Utility Dive)

11. California: Pacific Gas & Electric Agrees to Credit Customers for Blackouts, Gov. Newsom Says (SF Chronicle, CA)

12. Wyoming: Lower Valley Energy Cuts Ribbon on New Transmission Line (Jackson Hole Radio, WY)

13. Central Lincoln PUD – Local Lineman One of the Best (Newport News Times, OR)

FISH & WILDLIFE

14. Plan Mulls Killing More Sea Lions to Save Salmon (Courthouse News Service)

15. Projects Help Fish Habitat in Upper Yakima Basin (Yakima Herald-Republic, WA)

16. Could Columbia River Sturgeon Become a Source of High-End Caviar? The Yakama Nation Is Counting on It (Crosscut Seattle)

17. Fish Woes Debated by Salmon Panelists (The Challis Messenger, ID)

18. New Fisher Agreements Boost Conservation on 2 Million Acres in Oregon (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

“CLEAN UP ON AISLE THREE” – WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

19. Wall Street Spends Millions to Buy Up Washington State Water (Seattle Times, WA – Paywall Advisory)

RENEWABLE ENERGY & SELF STORAGE

20. REC Silicon to Double Down on Moses Lake Investment (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)

21. Report Debunks Contention That Increased Renewables Worsen Air Quality (Utility Dive)

22. Most Pumped Storage Electricity Generators in the U.S. Were Built in the 1970s (U.S. Energy Information Administration)

23. For Best Climate Impact, Put Renewables in the U.S. Midwest: Study (Reuters)

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

24. Meet Carrie Nelson, Low Income Energy Efficiency Grant Program (Bonneville Power Administration)


25. Washington State Begins Developing New Standard for Sustainable Buildings (South Sound Business)

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

26. Tacoma's Click! Network One Step Closer to Becoming a Private-Public Partnership (KING TV, Seattle, WA)

27. Grant PUD Commissioner Says on Pace to Being First Large Rural County in U.S. to Have Widespread Fiber Connectivity (iFiberOne News, Ephrata, WA)

I SING THE CAR ELECTRIC

28. British Columbia Would Need at Least Double the Power to Electrify Ground Transportation by 2055: Study (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

29. California’s Blackouts Could Make Fighting Climate Change Even Harder (Los Angeles Times, CA)

30. Electric Utilities Can’t Blame Wildfires Solely on Climate, Experts Say (Scientific American)

PUBLIC RELATIONS, MARKETING & MEDIA

31. Twitter Drops All Political Ads in Shot at Zuckerberg (Politico)

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI – SEETHING STEW OF SCIENCE

32. It’s the End of California as We Know It – The fires and the blackouts are connected to a larger problem in this state: a failure to live sustainably. (Los Angeles Times, CA)

33. How to Die a Good, Green Death (Crosscut Seattle)

GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENT

34. Pair of Controversial Ninth Circuit Picks Grilled by Senators (Courthouse News Service)

35. Olympia Stands Behind Its ‘Vote NO’ Mailer -- ‘Although Minds May Differ’ (Olympian, WA – Paywall Advisory)

36. Modernizing Congress to Meet Public Expectation – See Congressman Kilmer at Work (Morning Consult)

GENERAL NEWS

37. Hunt Is on for Location for Additional Commercial Airport for Puget Sound Region (Northwest News Network)

38. Mason County Unemployment Drops in September (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

39. Shelton Man Arrested After Speeding Down I-5 At 111 MPH “…I’m a dumbass…” (Aberdeen Daily World, WA)

40. 'Nation's Report Card' Show Declines in Oregon, Washington State, & Nationally (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

41. NCAA Decision Paves Way for Washington State Legislation to Pay College Athletes (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER – DIVERSIONS

Masterpiece Found in French Woman's Kitchen Sells for $26.6 Million

Germans Flock to Frankenstein Castle for Spooky Halloween

‘The Peanuts Papers’: How a Comic Strip Shaped the Lives of Writers & Artists

Bill Murray Says He Applied for Job at P.F. Chang’s, Got Hired

SONG OF THE DAY

Nina Simone – Feeling Good

LINKS & PAYWALL ADVISORY

Links in the news digest lead to current stories. Media organizations update their websites regularly, which may result in broken links.