Sponsored by the Northwest Public Power Association, edited by Joel Myer, Communicator Emeritus.
Get the Early-Bird Rate for the NWPPA/APA Alaska Electric Utility Conference
Don’t
miss your chance to secure the early-bird rates for the 2026 Alaska Electric Utility
Conference and pre-conference classes! The deadline is Oct. 2 for
pre-conference classes and Oct. 4 for the AEUC.
Held every two years in Anchorage, the AEUC features educational sessions, keynote speakers, networking opportunities, and a trade show with more than 100 exhibitors. Explore topics ranging from cybersecurity and operations to emerging technologies and utility management. This year’s conference will be Nov. 18-19, with pre-conference classes offered Nov. 16-17.
Hotshots – Today’s Top Five Stories
WA State: Puget Sound Energy Customers Pack
Hearing to Voice Concerns Over Proposed Rate Hikes (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)
WA Attorney General’s Office Opposes Bonneville
Power Administration Plan to Raise Electric Rates for Private Utility Customers
(Office of the WA Attorney General)
PacifiCorp’s Sale of Washington Assets May Not
Be in Utah’s Public Interest, Experts Say (Utah News Dispatch)
Utah: In Global First, a Next-Gen Geothermal
Plant Goes Live at Utility Scale (Canary Media)
https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/geothermal/global-first-next-gen-geothermal-fervo
Water Level Changes May Impact Hells Canyon
Reservoir Users, Idaho Power Warns (Elkhorn Media Group, Lagrande, OR)
News Highlights (See Stories Below)
1. WA State: Puget Sound Energy Customers Pack Hearing to
Voice Concerns Over Proposed Rate Hikes
2. WA State: Puget Sound Energy Seeks $1.5 Billion Rate
Increase
3. WA Attorney General’s Office Opposes Bonneville Power
Administration Plan to Raise Electric Rates for Private Utility Customers
4. PacifiCorp’s Sale of Washington Assets May Not Be in Utah’s
Public Interest, Experts Say
5. FEMA Approves Nearly $43 Million for Disaster Recovery,
Includes Eugene Water & Electric Board
6. With Copper Theft Surging, King County Prosecutor Wants
Lawmakers to Make Selling It Harder
7. Washington State’s Fusion Power Future
8. U.S. NRC Approves Tennessee Valley Authority’s Construction
of Nation’s First Small Modular Nuclear Reactor
9. Utah: In Global First, a Next-Gen Geothermal Plant Goes
Live at Utility Scale
10. Lawsuit Alleges USDA Illegally Slashed Rural Solar
Development Program
11. Solar Microgrids Going Up in North Carolina to Help Storm
Prep
12. WA State: Lacey Home Energy Score Proposal Causes a Divide
13. Alaska’s Bristol Bay Salmon Return About Average This Year,
with Higher Prices Paid to Fishers
14. Already Record-Low Columbia River Basin Steelhead Forecast
Downgraded
15. Experts Warn of Bee Colony Decline, Economic Impacts
16. Water Level Changes May Impact Hells Canyon Reservoir
Users, Idaho Power Warns
17. Verizon’s Copper Retirement Plan Hits a Snag as State
Officials Protest
18. WA State: Utility Drives Broadband Expansion into Rural
Jefferson County
19. Utopia: A City Can Own the Fiber Without Becoming Your ISP
20. President Trump Says Top Tech Firms Have Signed Accord to
‘Self-Police’ Artificial Intelligence Development
21. OpenAI Delays Latest Model Over Security Concerns, as
Industry Faces New Safety Pressures
22. Data Centers Proposed on Federal Land in Eastern Oregon,
Western States
23. Washington’s Electric Vehicle Efforts Continue to Face
Logistical Challenges
24. One Year After the End of the Electric Vehicle Tax Credit,
Is the Future Still Electric?
25. Facebook’s New Two-Link Limit: What Utilities Need to Know
26. What Is a Kelvin Wave? How Underwater Phenomena Impacts Sea
Levels During El Niño
27. ‘Eastern Washington Solutions for Eastern Washington
Problems’: Ferguson Backs Sales Tax Rebate, Energy Flexibility for Those
Rebuilding from Spokane Fires
28. Earthquake Felt Across Kitsap Peninsula Near Gig Harbor
29. Editorial: Power Rate Increase Becomes Issue in Oregon
Governor’s Race
Word of the Day
Raconteur \raw-conn-TERR\ Noun - A person who excels in telling anecdotes.
Barney was considered the neighborhood’s informal historian. While he felt he was the community’s most spellbinding booster, his neighbors were a bit less complimentary of his self-promotion as a raconteur of the first order. “More of the neighborhood’s favorite soporific experience,” yawned one resident during that year’s homeowners’ association meeting.
1.
WA State: Puget Sound Energy Customers Pack
Hearing to Voice Concerns Over Proposed Rate Hikes (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)
2.
WA State: Puget Sound Energy Seeks $1.5 Billion
Rate Increase (KUOW Radio, Seattle, WA)
https://www.kuow.org/topics/business/2026-09-28/puget-sound-energy-seeks-1-5b-rate-increase
5.
FEMA Approves Nearly $43 Million for Disaster
Recovery, Includes Eugene Water & Electric Board (KMTR-TV, Eugene, OR)
6.
With Copper Theft Surging, King County Prosecutor
Wants Lawmakers to Make Selling It Harder (KUOW Radio, Seattle, WA)
7.
Washington State’s Fusion Power Future (KPQ
Radio, Wenatchee, WA)
https://kpq.com/ixp/1135/p/washington-fusion-energy-companies/
8.
U.S. NRC Approves Tennessee Valley Authority’s Construction
of Nation’s First Small Modular Nuclear Reactor (Reuters)
Renewable Energy &
Self Storage
9. Utah:
In Global First, a Next-Gen Geothermal Plant Goes Live at Utility Scale (Canary
Media)
https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/geothermal/global-first-next-gen-geothermal-fervo
10.
Lawsuit Alleges USDA Illegally Slashed Rural
Solar Development Program (Utility Dive)
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/usda-rural-solar-reap-program-lawsuit-earthjustice/831614/
11.
Solar Microgrids Going Up in North Carolina to Help
Storm Prep (National Public Radio)
Conservation &
Efficiency
12.
WA State: Lacey Home Energy Score Proposal
Causes a Divide (JOLT News)
Fish & Wildlife
13.
Alaska’s Bristol Bay Salmon Return About Average
This Year, with Higher Prices Paid to Fishers (States Newsroom)
14.
Already Record-Low Columbia River Basin Steelhead
Forecast Downgraded (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA – Paywall Advisory)
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2026/sep/30/already-record-low-steelhead-forecast-downgraded/
15.
Experts Warn of Bee Colony Decline, Economic
Impacts (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)
https://mynorthwest.com/local/bee-colony-decline-economic-impacts/4281291
Water, Water Anywhere?
London Calling
–Telecommunications
17.
Verizon’s Copper Retirement Plan Hits a Snag as
State Officials Protest (Fierce Telecom)
18.
WA State: Utility Drives Broadband Expansion into
Rural Jefferson County (Port Townsend Leader, WA)
https://ptleader.com/articles/haven/utility-drives-broadband-expansion-into-rural-jefferson-county/
19.
Utopia: A City Can Own the Fiber Without
Becoming Your ISP (Fierce Network)
https://www.fierce-network.com/broadband/utopia-city-can-own-fiber-without-becoming-your-isp
HAL’s Internet Café
20.
President Trump Says Top Tech Firms Have Signed
Accord to ‘Self-Police’ Artificial Intelligence Development (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/trump-ai-anthropic-musk-595796511f110fc006cca0d01329733e
21.
OpenAI Delays Latest Model Over Security
Concerns, as Industry Faces New Safety Pressures (Associated Press)
The Wizarding World of
Technology & Cybersecurity
22.
Data Centers Proposed on Federal Land in Eastern
Oregon, Western States (States Newsroom)
I Sing the Car Electric
23.
Washington’s Electric Vehicle Efforts Continue to
Face Logistical Challenges (The Center Square)
https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_1ea217dc-34fe-4963-a3f2-25826bde03eb.html
24.
One Year After the End of the Electric Vehicle Tax
Credit, Is the Future Still Electric? (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
Public Relations,
Marketing & Media
25.
Facebook’s New Two-Link Limit: What Utilities
Need to Know (Pioneer Utility Resources)
https://pioneer.coop/facebooklinklimit/
Barrel O’ Green
Potpourri – Seething Stew of Science
26.
What Is a Kelvin Wave? How Underwater Phenomena
Impacts Sea Levels During El Niño (Yahoo! News)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/kelvin-wave-underwater-phenomena-impacts-201504483.html
Other Things to Know
About Today
27.
‘Eastern Washington Solutions for Eastern
Washington Problems’: Ferguson Backs Sales Tax Rebate, Energy Flexibility for Those
Rebuilding from Spokane Fires (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA – Paywall
Advisory)
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2026/sep/28/eastern-washington-solutions-for-eastern-washingto/
28.
Earthquake Felt Across Kitsap Peninsula Near Gig
Harbor (KHQ-TV, Spokane, WA)
Soapbox Serenade – Vox
Populi
29. Editorial:
Power Rate Increase Becomes Issue in Oregon Governor’s Race (The Bend
Bulletin, OR)
https://bendbulletin.com/2026/09/29/power-rate-increase-becomes-issue-in-oregon-governors-race/
Diversions – Puppies in the Pumpkin Patch
A Sea of Golden
Retrievers, A Field of Pumpkins & One Very Huggable Legacy
People Are Showing Off
Their Garden Harvests — and They’re Hilariously Tiny
https://www.today.com/food/trends/hilariously-tiny-garden-harvests-rcna600507
Shark Stranded in South
Korean Canal Draws 600,000 Visitors as Rescue Bid Fails
https://www.kcra.com/article/backpack-wins-fat-bear-week-katmai-national-park/73951111
Song of the Day
Henry Gross – Shannon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5Wpn3dFrEs
Roll the Credits…
The News Digest on Facebook, LinkedIn, and X (formerly Twitter) will deliver breaking news throughout the week so you can stay informed.
Subscribe to The Energy News Digest to stay up to date.
Links & Paywall Advisory
The links in The Energy News Digest point to current news stories. Because media websites update often, some links may stop working over time.
I try to select stories that you can read without a
subscription. Your experience may be different. The news source will let you
know if there's a paywall. Clearing your browser history and cookies can
sometimes help you access these sites.
