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Hotshots – Today’s Top Five Stories
Trump Federal
Employee Buyout Offer Doesn't Include Tennessee Valley Authority or Oak Ridge
Contractors (MSN News)
Paywall Advisory:
Bonneville Power Administration Employees Confront President Trump’s ‘Fork in
the Road’ (RTO Insider – Paywall Advisory)
https://www.rtoinsider.com/96974-bpa-employees-face-fork-in-the-road/
Microsoft Cloud
Growth Constrained by Data Center Shortage (Bloomberg News – Via Yahoo! News)
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/microsoft-falls-reporting-slowing-growth-211142591.html
Washington State’s
Sunny Days Spell Trouble for Snowpack (The Chronicle, Centralia, WA)
https://www.chronline.com/stories/washington-states-sunny-days-spell-trouble-for-snowpack,374629
Low-Elevation Snow
Forecast for Oregon & SW Washington Through the Week (Oregon Public
Broadcasting)
News Highlights (See
Stories Below)
1. Trump
Federal Employee Buyout Offer Doesn’t Include Tennessee Valley Authority or Oak
Ridge Contractors
2. Paywall
Advisory: Bonneville Power Administration Employees Confront President Trump’s
‘Fork in the Road’
3. CEO
of Tennessee Valley Authority, The Nation’s Largest Public Utility, Plans to
Retire
4. Southern
California Edison Wants to Raise Rates to Pay for Wildfires Linked to Its
Equipment
5. U.S.
Nuclear Generators Import Nearly All the Uranium Concentrate They Use
6. Nuclear
Power Tech Poised to Explode as Wyoming’s Next Six-Figure ‘It’ Job
7. U.S.
Wholesale Power Prices to Rise About 7% in Most Regions in 2025: EIA
8. Natural
Gas Spot Prices Fell Across Key Regional Trading Hubs in 2024
9. Why
Electricity Will Be Hard to Weaponize in Trade War with Trump
10. FERC
in Focus: Consumers, Reliability & States Are FERC’s Top Priorities,
Chairman Christie Says
11. Yakama
Power Looks to Alternative Energy Storage Projects
12. Idaho
Renewable Energy Projects Put on Hold Following President Trump’s Executive
Order
13. Hold
Off on That New Heat Pump as Trump’s Freeze on Clean Energy Money Sows
Uncertainty
14. Geothermal
Heat Pumps Are Crazy Efficient. Should You Get One?
15. Flatlining
Salmon & Steelhead Numbers in Columbia Basin Both a Success &
Cautionary Tale
16. Orca
Advocates Beg for Solutions as Salmon Shortage Threatens Whale Population
17. Northport
& Upper Columbia River Gain Hope with Superfund Designation After Decades
of Pollution
18. Washington
State’s Sunny Days Spell Trouble for Snowpack
19. World’s
Biggest Iceberg Could Collide with Antarctic Penguin Island
20. USDA
Ordered to Scrub Climate Change from Websites
21. Microsoft
Cloud Growth Constrained by Data Center Shortage
22. Washington
Lawmakers Pick a Knife Fight with Tesla
23. WA
Gov. Ferguson Names Ex-Microsoft Exec to Lead Utility Regulatory Panel
24. The
Latest Issue Dividing Washington’s Lawmakers: Cow Farts
25. Low-Elevation
Snow Forecast for Oregon & SW Washington Through the Week
26. Guest
Essay: It May Be Time to Take a New Look at Electricity Demand
27. ‘Report
Card’ Warns Washington State Failing to Meet Targets in Key Energy &
Environmental Areas
28.
The Problem & Potential of Hydropower
Word of the Day
Intrinsic \inn-TRINN-zick\ Adjective - 1a: belonging to the essential nature or constitution of a thing b: being or relating to a semiconductor in which the concentration of charge carriers is characteristic of the material itself instead of the content of any impurities it contains 2a: originating or due to causes within a body, organ, or part b: originating & included wholly within an organ or part.
The sentimental value of the one-dollar bill taped to the ship’s wall near the antiquated cash register far exceeded the intrinsic value of the crumpled bit of paper. “It was the first dollar I made at this store…and possibly the last,” proclaimed the kilted owner of the “Horace’s Haggis Hut.”
Energy & Utility
Issues
1.
Trump Federal Employee Buyout Offer Doesn't
Include Tennessee Valley Authority or Oak Ridge Contractors (MSN News)
2.
Paywall Advisory: Bonneville Power
Administration Employees Confront President Trump’s ‘Fork in the Road’ (RTO Insider
– Paywall Advisory)
https://www.rtoinsider.com/96974-bpa-employees-face-fork-in-the-road/
3.
CEO of Tennessee Valley Authority, The Nation’s
Largest Public Utility, Plans to Retire (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/tennessee-valley-authority-tva-ceo-a243548291623ef36ca293144c5d9c5f
4.
Southern California Edison Wants to Raise Rates
to Pay for Wildfires Linked to Its Equipment (Los Angeles Times, CA – Via AOL
News)
https://www.aol.com/news/edison-wants-customers-pay-wildfires-110058639.html
5.
U.S. Nuclear Generators Import Nearly All the
Uranium Concentrate They Use (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=64444
6.
Nuclear Power Tech Poised to Explode as Wyoming’s
Next Six-Figure ‘It’ Job (Cowboy State Daily)
7.
U.S. Wholesale Power Prices to Rise About 7% in
Most Regions in 2025: EIA (Utility Dive)
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/wholesale-power-prices-rise-2025-regions-natural-gas/738463/
8.
Natural Gas Spot Prices Fell Across Key Regional
Trading Hubs in 2024 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=64445
9.
Why Electricity Will Be Hard to Weaponize in Trade
War with Trump (Financial Post – Via Yahoo! News)
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-electricity-hard-weaponize-trade-145503793.html
10.
FERC in Focus: Consumers, Reliability &
States Are FERC’s Top Priorities, Chairman Christie Says (Utility Dive)
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/ferc-christie-consumers-reliability-states-colocation-naruc/738419/
Renewable Energy &
Self Storage
11.
Yakama Power Looks to Alternative Energy Storage
Projects (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
https://www.opb.org/article/2025/02/01/yakama-nation-rail-energy-storage/
12.
Idaho Renewable Energy Projects Put on Hold
Following President Trump's Executive Order (KIVI-TV, Nampa, ID)
Conservation &
Efficiency
13.
Hold Off on That New Heat Pump as Trump’s Freeze
on Clean Energy Money Sows Uncertainty (The Oregonian, Portland, OR)
14.
Geothermal Heat Pumps Are Crazy Efficient. Should
You Get One? (Canary Media)
Fish & Wildlife
15.
Flatlining Salmon & Steelhead Numbers in
Columbia Basin Both a Success & Cautionary Tale (Indian Country Today)
16.
Orca Advocates Beg for Solutions as Salmon
Shortage Threatens Whale Population (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)
Environmental Afflatus –
Clean Up on Aisle Three
17.
Northport & Upper Columbia River Gain Hope with
Superfund Designation After Decades of Pollution (KXLY-TV, Spokane, WA)
Water, Water, Anywhere?
18.
Washington State’s Sunny Days Spell Trouble for
Snowpack (The Chronicle, Centralia, WA)
https://www.chronline.com/stories/washington-states-sunny-days-spell-trouble-for-snowpack,374629
Climate Change
Sequestration Vault
19.
World's Biggest Iceberg Could Collide with Antarctic
Penguin Island (CBS News)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/worlds-largest-iceberg-could-collide-191810605.html
20.
USDA Ordered to Scrub Climate Change from
Websites (Politico)
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/31/usda-climate-change-websites-00201826
The Wizarding World of
Technology & Cybersecurity
21.
Microsoft Cloud Growth Constrained by Data
Center Shortage (Bloomberg News – Via Yahoo! News)
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/microsoft-falls-reporting-slowing-growth-211142591.html
I Sing the Car Electric
22.
Washington Lawmakers Pick a Knife Fight with Tesla
(Washington Observer)
https://washingtonobserver.substack.com/p/lawmakers-pick-a-knife-fight-with
Politics, Governance,
and Management
23.
WA Gov. Ferguson Names Ex-Microsoft Exec to Lead
Utility Regulatory Panel (Washington Standard)
24.
The Latest Issue Dividing Washington's Lawmakers:
Cow Farts (KUOW Radio, Seattle, WA)
https://m.kuow.org/stories/the-latest-issue-dividing-washington-s-lawmakers-cow-farts
Other Things to Know
About Today
25.
Low-Elevation Snow Forecast for Oregon & SW
Washington Through the Week (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
Soapbox Serenade – Vox
Populi
26.
Guest Essay: It May Be Time to Take a New Look at
Electricity Demand (Oregon Capital Chronicle)
27.
‘Report Card’ Warns Washington State Failing to
Meet Targets in Key Energy & Environmental Areas (Washington Policy Center)
28.
The Problem & Potential of Hydropower (Clean
Technica)
https://cleantechnica.com/2025/02/03/the-problem-potential-of-hydropower/
Diversions - Alligators in the Sewer
A Newly Discovered
Asteroid Has a Slim Chance of Hitting Earth In 2032
https://www.yahoo.com/news/newly-discovered-asteroid-slim-chance-143615008.html
'Setsubun' Bean-Throwing
Festival Events Held Across Japan
https://japantoday.com/category/national/%27setsubun%27-bean-throwing-festival-held-across-japan-2
Corgi Cop Loses
Bonus for Looking Fed-Up at Work. The Internet Can Relate.
Mushers & Dogs
Braved a Horrific Alaska Winter to Deliver Lifesaving Serum 100 Years Ago
Song of the Day
Josh Groban – Beans
Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lJ_7E3xRmc&t=5s
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