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Joel Myer, Communicator Emeritus, edits the Energy News Digest.
Hotshots – Today’s Top Five Stories
Power Plant Outages Surge in
Eastern U.S. Amid Restricted Gas Supplies & Frigid Weather (Reuters)
A Rare Step Forward for
Goldendale Pumped Hydro Project (Canary Media)
https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/hydropower/rare-step-forward-us-pumped-hydro
Oregon, California Coastal
Communities Weigh Offshore Wind Tradeoffs (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
https://www.opb.org/article/2026/01/25/oregon-california-offshore-wind-tradeoffs/
How Americans Are Using
Artificial Intelligence at Work, According to a New Gallup Poll (Associated
Press)
https://apnews.com/article/ai-workplace-gemini-chatgpt-poll-4934bc61d039508db32bc49f85d63d99
Winter Storm Live Updates: Northeast Covered in Heavy Snow
While Ice Accumulation Leaves 800,000 without Power in the South (Yahoo! News)
News
Highlights (See Stories Below)
1.
Power Plant Outages Surge in Eastern U.S. Amid
Restricted Gas Supplies & Frigid Weather
2.
A Rare Step Forward for Goldendale Pumped Hydro
3.
Washington UTC Reverses Rule, Now Requires
Climate Commitment Act Costs Be Shown on Puget Sound Energy Bills
4.
Washington State Supreme Court Takes Up
Voter-Approved Natural Gas Protection
5.
Keeping Washington’s Power Flowing: Why Dam
Maintenance Matters
6.
California: Man Trying to Steal Copper Wire in
Pomona Dies After Being Electrocuted, Police Say
7.
2025 Western Assessment of Resource Adequacy
8.
The Top 10 States of Nuclear
9.
Why Do We Buy Bread & Milk Before a Storm?
Here’s What You Should Get Instead
10.
Oregon, California Coastal Communities Weigh
Offshore Wind Tradeoffs
11.
Reporting Showed Washington Ranks Last in Green
Energy Growth. Now the state Is Working to Speed It Up
12.
Union Coalition Wants to Spur Job Growth to Meet
Oregon’s Clean Energy Targets
13.
WA U.S. Senator Secures $190 Million for Fish
Passage, Other Work on Upper Green River
14.
More Than 1,500 Dead Salmon to Be Released into
tucannon River
15.
Spring Water Forecast Uneven, Drought Continues
16.
How Americans Are Using Artificial Intelligence
at Work, According to a New Gallup Poll
17.
As Artificial Intelligence-Generated Fake
Content Mars Legal Cases, States Want Guardrails
18.
Rivian Pledges $4.6 Million for Ballot
Initiative to Allow Direct Electric Vehicle Sales in WA
19.
GM To End Chevy Bolt Electric Vehicle Production
Next Year, Move China-Made Buick to U.S. Factory
20.
TikTok Finalizes a Deal to Form a New American
Entity
21.
Meta, TikTok, YouTube to Stand Trial on Youth
Addiction Claims
22.
Are Data Centers Raising Your Energy Bill? WA
Lawmakers Want Them to Pay
23.
WA Insurance Commissioner Pushes Bills for
Wildfire Mitigation, Disclose Wildfire Risk Scores
24.
U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee
Approves CAA Legislation, Hydropower License Extension Bill
25.
Winter Storm Live Updates: Northeast Covered in
Heavy Snow While Ice Accumulation Leaves 800,000 without Power in the South
26.
Guest Essay: Nuclear Being Considered to Address
Rising Grid Demand in Washington
Word of the Day
Infantilize \IN-fant-tile-eyes\ Verb – To cause to be or remain like an infant or young child 2: to treat like an infant or young child.
“And how’s our widdle patient today?” crooned the nurse to the recovering 50-year-old heart attack patient. “He’s a little sick and tired of your efforts to infantilize him,” the patient thought to himself, his furrowed brow giving the nurse her warning that another goo-goo statement would draw his ire. “However,” he mused, “those little Jell-O packs go down easy in my tummwy wummy!”
Energy
& Utility Issues
1.
Power Plant Outages Surge in Eastern U.S. Amid
Restricted Gas Supplies & Frigid Weather (Reuters)
2.
A Rare Step Forward for Goldendale Pumped Hydro
Project (Canary Media)
https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/hydropower/rare-step-forward-us-pumped-hydro
3.
Washington UTC Reverses Rule, Now Requires Climate
Commitment Act Costs Be Shown on Puget Sound Energy Bills (KOMO News, Seattle,
WA)
4.
Washington State Supreme Court Takes Up
Voter-Approved Natural Gas Protection (The Center Square)
https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_5b2aff9e-d811-4e85-8ccf-2a11b03c3770.html
5.
Keeping Washington’s Power Flowing: Why Dam
Maintenance Matters (Seattle Times, WA – Paywall Advisory)
6.
California: Man Trying to Steal Copper Wire in Pomona
Dies After Being Electrocuted, Police Say (MSN News)
7.
2025 Western Assessment of Resource Adequacy (Western
Electricity Coordinating Council)
https://feature.wecc.org/2025wara/index.html
8.
The Top 10 States of Nuclear (Nuclear Newswire)
https://www.ans.org/news/2026-01-08/article-7645/the-top-10-states-of-nuclear/
9.
Why Do We Buy Bread & Milk Before a Storm? Here’s
What You Should Get Instead (Yahoo! News)
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/why-buy-bread-milk-storm-115759297.html
Renewable
Energy & Self Storage
10.
Oregon, California Coastal Communities Weigh Offshore
Wind Tradeoffs (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
https://www.opb.org/article/2026/01/25/oregon-california-offshore-wind-tradeoffs/
11.
Reporting Showed Washington Ranks Last in Green Energy
Growth. Now the state Is Working to Speed It Up (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
12.
Union Coalition Wants to Spur Job Growth to Meet
Oregon’s Clean Energy Targets (The Oregonian, Portland, OR)
Fish
& Wildlife
13.
WA U.S. Senator Secures $190 Million for Fish
Passage, Other Work on Upper Green River (Northwest Sportsman Magazine)
14.
More Than 1,500 Dead Salmon to Be Released into
tucannon River (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)
Water,
Water, Anywhere?
15.
Spring Water Forecast Uneven, Drought Continues
(Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)
https://columbiabasinherald.com/news/2026/jan/26/spring-water-forecast-uneven-drought-continues/
The
Wizarding World of Technology & Cybersecurity
16.
How Americans Are Using Artificial Intelligence at
Work, According to a New Gallup Poll (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/ai-workplace-gemini-chatgpt-poll-4934bc61d039508db32bc49f85d63d99
17.
As Artificial Intelligence-Generated Fake
Content Mars Legal Cases, States Want Guardrails (States Newsroom)
I
Sing the Car Electric
18.
Rivian Pledges $4.6 Million for Ballot
Initiative to Allow Direct Electric Vehicle Sales in WA (Washington State
Standard)
19.
GM To End Chevy Bolt Electric Vehicle Production
Next Year, Move China-Made Buick to U.S. Factory (Techcrunch)
Public
Relations, Marketing & Media
20.
TikTok Finalizes a Deal to Form a New American Entity
(Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-deal-us-china-eccb46c3bfee4cf3d362a01fe4968a4f
21.
Meta, TikTok, YouTube to Stand Trial on Youth
Addiction Claims (Reuters)
Politics,
Governance, and Management
22.
Are Data Centers Raising Your Energy Bill? WA Lawmakers
Want Them to Pay (The Olympian, WA – Via Yahoo! News)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/data-centers-raising-energy-bill-130000632.html
23.
WA Insurance Commissioner Pushes Bills for
Wildfire Mitigation, Disclose Wildfire Risk Scores (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA
– Paywall Advisory)
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2026/jan/26/wa-insurance-commissioner-pushes-bills-for-wildfir/
24.
U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee
Approves CAA Legislation, Hydropower License Extension Bill (American Public
Power Association)
Other
Things to Know About Today
25.
Winter Storm Live Updates: Northeast Covered in
Heavy Snow While Ice Accumulation Leaves 800,000 without Power in the South (Yahoo!
News)
Soapbox
Serenade – Vox Populi
26.
Guest Essay: Nuclear Being Considered to Address
Rising Grid Demand in Washington (Tri-City Herald, WA – Via Yahoo! News)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/nuclear-being-considered-address-rising-110000754.html
Diversions - Alligators in the Sewer
Behold, The Lego X Crocs Footwear Collab That Dreams Are
Made Of
https://mashable.com/article/lego-crocs-announce-partnership
American Rock Climber Alex Honnold Reaches Top of Taipei 101
Skyscraper without Ropes
Accidental 'Crying Horse' Toy Wins Hearts in China
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/accidental-crying-horse-toy-wins-hearts-china-2026-01-26/
Song of the Day
Joe South – Walk a Mile in My Shoes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlqcnTDp-_o
Links & Paywall Advisory
Links in The Energy News Digest are for current stories. Media organizations frequently update their websites, which can lead to broken links.
Although I choose stories that are accessible without paying
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