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RICK PERRY SAYS HE’S NOT GOING ANYWHERE: Rick Perry is not leaving his post as head of the Department of Energy, he said in an exclusive interview with the Washington Examiner Thursday afternoon.

“The president knows I like where I am,” Perry said. “He knows that we have done a really good job of keeping this agency focused, particularly in those areas he is interested in: selling American, running an agency effectively.”

Perry said he discussed a wide range of issues with President Trump Monday, but switching jobs was not one of them. Reports had said Monday’s meeting with Perry was to discuss his leaving the Energy Department to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“We talked about a lot of different things,” Perry said. “What he didn’t talk about was me changing jobs. I know there is a lot of interest in that in the last 48 to 72 hours.”

• VA did come up: Perry said he briefed the president about his ongoing effort to address veteran health concerns through the Energy Department’s fleet of national labs.

The meeting lasted one hour, but they “covered the watershed,” Perry said. “We talked about a lot of different things.”

PERRY MAKES CLEAR SOLAR AND WIND ARE PART OF TRUMP ENERGY AGENDA: Perry got a little defensive in Thursday’s interview, seeking to clarify that “we’re not here just to promote the fossil fuels” when asked about next steps to advance coal.

“We’re here to promote wind, and solar, and hydro, and maybe some forms of energy that we haven’t even dreamed up yet,” Perry said.

“But for the foreseeable future, fossil fuels are going to play a really important role, not just in America, but in the world,” he said.

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APPALACHIA ENERGY PLAN IN THE MAKING: “The president really likes the concept of duplicating the petrochemical footprint that’s in the Gulf Coast region in Appalachia,” Perry said.

The plan would be used to transition parts of coal country into an area for chemical production and other industries, using the area’s rich natural gas reserves to support it. Companies from around the world are already interested in building there.

Perry said to expect the administration to become more vocal about the idea later in the year.

“I think it’s a little early to be laying it out with great specificity,” he said. “But the other side of that is that we’re not too far away from being able to do it.”

But at the end of the day, “the private sector will build it out,” he said. “Our job will be, don’t get in the way.”

• Washington’s job: “We have our role to protect the environment, protect the people with our rules, ‘You meet the rules, here’s your permit,’” he said.

GOVERNMENT CONFIRMS RUSSIAN CYBER HACKERS TARGETED US POWER GRID: The Trump administration on Thursday for the first time publicly accused Russia of targeting the U.S. power grid with cyber attacks

“Since at least March 2016, Russian government cyber actors targeted government entities and multiple U.S. critical infrastructure sectors, including the energy, nuclear, commercial facilities, water, aviation, and critical manufacturing sectors,” the FBI and Department of Homeland Security said in a joint statement.

• ‘Malicious acts’: The agencies included the information as part of a Treasury Department announcement of sanctions against Russian organizations and individuals for their interference in the 2016 U.S. election and for committing “malicious cyberattacks.”

The U.S. government says the Russian hackers compromised energy operators in North America and Europe by copying information of machinery and descriptions of how they operate, which could be used to shut down power plants.

• Strategy lacking: After the government issued its alert, Perry warned members of a House Appropriations subcommittee that he’s “not confident” the government has an appropriate strategy to combat “hundreds of thousands” of cybersecurity attacks directed at the U.S. every day.

• Help coming? Perry also issued an official statement through the Energy Department, highlighting his plans to create a cyber security office.

“DOE has worked closely with government partners and energy sector asset owners to help ensure attempts failed or were stopped,” Perry said. “This event demonstrates exactly why I am creating an Office of Cyber Security and Emergency Response. It is crucial for the DOE to consolidate and strengthen our efforts to combat the growing nefarious cyber threats we face.”

CANTWELL SAYS SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE: Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said Thursday that she had issued several warnings to the Trump administration about the threat of Russia cyber attacks on the power industry.

“A year ago yesterday, I called for a Russian cyber threat assessment to our grid,” Cantwell said. “I’ve repeatedly asked President Trump to tackle this urgent task and have been met with deafening silence. I hope today’s belated response is the first step in a robust and aggressive strategy to protect our critical infrastructure.”

SENATORS PUSH TRUMP TO BLOCK RUSSIAN PIPELINE: A bipartisan group of 39 senators on Thursday demanded the Trump administration use “all of the tools at its disposal” to block the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project that would transport natural gas from Russia to Germany.

“We must ensure that our European allies understand our resolve in supporting their energy independence and the detrimental impact of Nord Stream 2 on their long-term interests,” senators wrote in a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan.

• Big names: Senators signing the letter include John Barrasso, R-Wyo., John McCain, R-Ariz., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, John Cornyn, R-Texas, Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.

• Rex flex: Soon-to-be-former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has criticized Russia’s plans to open a natural gas pipeline to supply energy to Germany, saying it would threaten stability in the region.

• Big supplier: Russia is a top supplier of natural gas to Europe, which the Trump administration is seeking to change by encouraging the export of U.S. natural gas to the continent now that the U.S. is a top producer of the fuel.

NEW INTERIOR DEPARTMENT WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COUNCIL ACCUSED OF BIAS: Protesters greeted members of a new wildlife conservation council created by the Interior Department Friday morning as they met in Washington for the first time.

The Associated Press reported Thursday that the council’s members, appointed by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, include hunting guides, gunmakers and others who support animal trophy hunting, including some people with ties to Trump’s family.

• ‘Thrill-kill council’: “If Trump really wants to stop the slaughter of elephants for trophies, he should shut down this biased thrill-kill council,” said Tanya Sanerib, international program legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, which planned the protest outside the wildlife conservation council meeting at Interior Department headquarters, with protesters expected to wear elephant masks.

“The administration can’t make wise decisions on trophy imports if it only listens to gunmakers and people who want to kill wildlife. Africa’s imperiled elephants need protection, not a bullet to the head.”

• Rules of the road: The International Wildlife Conservation Council is tasked with helping establish federal rules for importing lion, rhino and elephant trophies. It seeks to provide advice to Zinke on “the benefits that result from United States citizens traveling to foreign nations to engage in hunting.”

• Trophies allowed: Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service announced this month that it will allow imports of elephant trophies from African countries on a case-by-case basis.

The Fish and Wildlife Service in November had moved to overturn an Obama-era ban on elephant trophy imports from Zimbabwe, before Trump put the policy on hold after a public outcry.

In a memo issued this month, Fish and Wildlife changed course again and said it will “grant or deny permits to import a sport-hunted trophy on a case-by-case basis.”

• Nothing to see here: Zinke on Thursday told House lawmakers the agency “has not imported one elephant” since the policy changed.

INDUSTRY WANTS MORE TIME TO COMMENT ON GRID RESILIENCE: Energy industry officials on Friday asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for 30 extra days to comment on an analysis by regional grid operators about the resilience of the power system.

• Resilience matters: The nation’s federally overseen grid operators, which run about 70 percent of the U.S. power supply, reported to FERC last Friday on resilience challenges in their markets, or the grid’s ability to bounce back from a major disruption such as this year’s bomb cyclone in the Northeast.

FERC directed regional transmission operators to report on grid resilience after the commission rejected a proposal by the Energy Department to provide special payments to ailing coal and nuclear plants.

• Time crunch: The public can offer comment on what the grid operators told FERC for 30 days.

Officials from the American Council on Renewable Energy, American Petroleum Institute, Solar Energy Industries Association, American Wind Energy Association, and more said they need more time.

“The filings made by the RTOs/ISOs are significant, and will require substantial time and effort by interested members of the public to digest and analyze,” the groups wrote to FERC. “The 30-day extension requested will help ensure that a robust record is developed on the resilience issues identified by the commission in this docket.”

RUNDOWN

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