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Joel Myer, Communicator Emeritus, edits the Energy News Digest.
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Hotshots – Today’s Top Five Stories
U.S. Power Use to
Reach Record Highs in 2025 And 2026, EIA Says (Reuters)
Idaho: Nuclear
Power Proposal Emerges for Jerome County Site Where Controversial Wind Project
Stalled (KIVI-TV, Nampa, ID)
Nez Perce Tribe
Asks Congress to ‘Avert a Financial Crisis,’ Warns Trump Administration Is
Withholding Fish Hatchery Funds (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA – Paywall
Advisory)
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2025/jul/07/nez-perce-tribe-asks-congress-to-avert-a-financial/
High Costs May
Force WA Ferry Electrification Program Off Course (Washington State Standard)
Earthquake Swarm:
Hundreds Recorded Tuesday at WA’s Mount Rainier (KCPQ-TV, Seattle, WA)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/earthquake-swarm-recorded-mount-rainier-170719641.html
News Highlights (See
Stories Below)
1. U.S.
Power Use to Reach Record Highs in 2025 And 2026, EIA Says
2. Idaho:
Nuclear Power Proposal Emerges for Jerome County Site Where Controversial Wind
Project Stalled
3. NorthWestern
Energy, Montana Utility Board Dial Back Electricity Rate Hike
4. Portland
General Electric Reduces Staff by 53 Workers to ‘Keep Bills as Low as Possible’
5. Blackout
Risks Rising as Artificial Intelligence, Reindustrialization Push Strain Grid
6. FERC
Rejects MISO, Southwest Power Pool Plan to Broaden Scope of Interregional
Transmission
7. America
Depends on Hydroelectric Power, But Regulatory Hurdles Could Take Plants
Offline
8. Power
Providers Urge FERC to Reject PacifiCorp Adding $1.7 Billion in Wildfire
Liabilities to Transmission Rates
9. Oregon
Has a Massive New Wave Energy Testing Facility. But Who Is Going to Use It?
10. What
to Set Your Thermostat at to Save Money, Stay Cool in the Summer
11. Nez
Perce Tribe Asks Congress to ‘Avert a Financial Crisis,’ Warns Trump
Administration Is Withholding Fish Hatchery Funds
12. Orcas
Off B.C. Coast Face ‘High Probability of Extinction’ if Conditions Don’t
Change: Report
13. Meet
the Wenatchee Valley College Students Attempting to Modernize Dryden Dam
14. Tribal
Nations Build Sovereignty Through Broadband Infrastructure, Panelists Say
15. Yurok
Tribe Launches ‘Transformational’ High-Speed Broadband Projects to Connect
Underserved North Coast Communities
16. Google’s
Electricity Demand Is Skyrocketing
17. High
Costs May Force WA Ferry Electrification Program Off Course
18. A
‘Click-to-Cancel’ Rule, Intended to Make Canceling Subscriptions Easier, Is
Blocked
19. There’s
a Belief That We’re Ditching Web Search for Chatbots - the Truth Is More
Complicated
20. U.S.
Rep. Newhouse (WA) Wins Nuclear Fight in Trump’s ‘Big Bill.’ What It Means for
Tri-Cities, Pacific NW
21. Earthquake
Swarm: Hundreds Recorded Tuesday at WA’s Mount Rainier
22. Travelers
No Longer Have to Remove Their Shoes During Security Screenings at U.S.
Airports
23. Guest
Essay: What Trump’s Big Bill Means for Clean Energy in Washington
24.
Guest Essay: Our Energy Grid Is Fragile &
Strained; Let’s Move Beyond NIMBYism to Strengthen It
Word of the Day
Canorous /kuh-NORE-us/ Adjective - Pleasant sounding: melodious
The sounds of heaven
Canorous strains, Clair de Lune
Great work DeBussy!
http://joelshorriblehaiku.blogspot.com/
Energy & Utility
Issues
1.
U.S. Power Use to Reach Record Highs in 2025 And
2026, EIA Says (Reuters)
2.
Idaho: Nuclear Power Proposal Emerges for Jerome
County Site Where Controversial Wind Project Stalled (KIVI-TV, Nampa, ID)
3.
NorthWestern Energy, Montana Utility Board Dial
Back Electricity Rate Hike (Montana Free Press)
4.
Portland General Electric Reduces Staff by 53
Workers to ‘Keep Bills as Low as Possible’ (KGW-TV, Portland, OR)
5.
Blackout Risks Rising as Artificial Intelligence,
Reindustrialization Push Strain Grid (The Hill, Washington, DC)
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5388348-trump-energy-report-grid-risk/
6.
FERC Rejects MISO, Southwest Power Pool Plan to
Broaden Scope of Interregional Transmission Planning (Utility Dive)
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/ferc-miso-spp-interregional-transmission-study-csp/752294/
7.
America Depends on Hydroelectric Power, But
Regulatory Hurdles Could Take Plants Offline (Nebraska Public Media)
8.
Power Providers Urge FERC to Reject PacifiCorp
Adding $1.7 Billion in Wildfire Liabilities to Transmission Rates (Utility Dive)
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/utah-deseret-uamps-ferc-pacificorp-wildfire-transmission/752557/
Renewable Energy &
Self Storage
9.
Oregon Has a Massive New Wave Energy Testing
Facility. But Who Is Going to Use It? (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
Conservation &
Efficiency
10.
What to Set Your Thermostat at to Save Money,
Stay Cool in the Summer (MSN News)
Fish & Wildlife
11.
Nez Perce Tribe Asks Congress to ‘Avert a
Financial Crisis,’ Warns Trump Administration Is Withholding Fish Hatchery
Funds (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA – Paywall Advisory)
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2025/jul/07/nez-perce-tribe-asks-congress-to-avert-a-financial/
12.
Orcas Off B.C. Coast Face ‘High Probability of
Extinction’ if Conditions Don’t Change: Report (Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/orcas-bc-coast-report-1.7580429?cmp=rss
Water, Water, Anywhere?
13.
Meet the Wenatchee Valley College Students
Attempting to Modernize Dryden Dam (KPQ Radio, Wenatchee, WA)
https://kpq.com/wvc-students-dryden-dam/
London Calling
–Telecommunications
14.
Tribal Nations Build Sovereignty Through
Broadband Infrastructure, Panelists Say (Broadband Breakfast)
15.
Yurok Tribe Launches ‘Transformational’
High-Speed Broadband Projects to Connect Underserved North Coast Communities
(Lost Coast Outpost, Eureka, CA)
https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2025/jul/3/yurok-broadband/
The Wizarding World of
Technology & Cybersecurity
16.
Google’s Electricity Demand Is Skyrocketing (Technology
Review)
https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/07/03/1119627/google-electricity-fusion-ai/
I Sing the Car Electric
17.
High Costs May Force WA Ferry Electrification
Program Off Course (Washington State Standard)
Public Relations,
Marketing & Media
18.
A ‘Click-to-Cancel’ Rule, Intended to Make
Canceling Subscriptions Easier, Is Blocked (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/ftc-click-to-cancel-30db2be07fdcb8aefd0d4835abdb116a
19.
There’s a Belief That We’re Ditching Web Search for
Chatbots - the Truth Is More Complicated (New Zealand Herald)
Politics, Governance,
and Management
20.
U.S. Rep. Newhouse (WA) Wins Nuclear Fight in Trump’s
‘Big Bill.’ What It Means for Tri-Cities, Pacific NW (Tri-City Herald, WA – Via
MSN News)
Other Things to Know
About Today
21.
Earthquake Swarm: Hundreds Recorded Tuesday at WA’s
Mount Rainier (KCPQ-TV, Seattle, WA)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/earthquake-swarm-recorded-mount-rainier-170719641.html
22.
Travelers No Longer Have to Remove Their Shoes
During Security Screenings at U.S. Airports (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/tsa-shoes-security-precheck-bush-real-id-1b9fda716f7a24eddf2e706857f2b788
Soapbox Serenade – Vox
Populi
23.
Guest Essay: What Trump’s Big Bill Means for
Clean Energy in Washington (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA – Paywall Advisory)
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2025/jul/04/what-trumps-big-bill-means-for-clean-energy-in-was/
24.
Guest Essay: Our Energy Grid Is Fragile &
Strained; Let’s Move Beyond NIMBYism to Strengthen It (Cascadia Daily)
Diversions - Alligators in the Sewer
A Pacing Chihuahua Helps
Swiss Rescuers Find a Man Who Fell Into a Glacier
https://apnews.com/article/chihuahua-switzerland-glacier-rescue-dog-e0523925ec6653d63a31d4b07e2b17cd
The Bayeux Tapestry
Will Be Displayed in the UK For the First Time in Nearly 1,000 Years
‘Lord of the Rings’
Director Backs Long Shot De-Extinction Plan, Starring New Zealand’s Lost Moa
World's Most
Expensive Cheese Sells for $42,232
Song of the Day
Lily Allen -
Somewhere Only We Know
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW_ZiojrkVY&list=RDCW_ZiojrkVY&start_radio=1
Links & Paywall Advisory
Links in the Energy News Digest are for current stories. Media organizations frequently update their websites, which can result in broken links.
Although I choose
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