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AMERICANS FACE ‘ANXIETY’ OF RISING PRICES AS SUMMER DRIVING SEASON HITS: Rising oil prices caused by production cutbacks and supply disruptions are helping push gasoline prices to their highest level in more than three years, just as drivers are preparing for Memorial Day and summer road trips.

Average U.S. retail gasoline prices are approaching $3 per gallon, with the national average around $2.96 Wednesday.

• Perspective please: Experts say drivers this summer could pay the highest prices for gasoline since 2014, although less than the high in 2008, when the average topped $4 a gallon.

Last year’s Memorial Day average gasoline price was $2.30 per gallon.

• Change of plans: While pump prices typically rise during the summer, as refiners have to meet more stringent, and costly, environmental requirements, the uptick could last longer this year.

Patrick DeHaan, petroleum analyst at GasBuddy, a fuel-tracking app, said consumers are worried.

GasBuddy conducted a survey of 17,000 users from April 27 to May 3 that found 39 percent of respondents say high gas prices are affecting their summer travel plans.

“It’s unfortunate that gas prices have gone up,” DeHaan told Josh. “There is some anxiety behind high prices.”

• Gas matters: Nationwide, Americans last year spent 2.3 percent of their disposable income on gasoline, according to Kevin Book, managing director for research at ClearView Energy. That share has increased to 2.8 percent in 2018 and may jump to 3 percent or more if gasoline prices continue to rise.

“It sounds like it’s not a lot, but if you take away a half-percent of your disposable income, the margins really do feel a price increase,” Book told Josh. “Not everyone has an average income or drives average distances. And people who drive the longest distance often have the lowest incomes.”

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ZINKE WAKES UP TO NEW LAWSUIT FOR GOING AGAINST BIRD TREATY: A broad coalition of conservation and environmental groups is suing Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke for proposing to eliminate longstanding protections for waterfowl, raptors and songbirds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

• Big coalition: The groups including the American Bird Conservancy, Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, and the Natural Resources Defense Council, filed litigation Thursday against the Interior Department in the Southern District of New York.

• What Zinke proposes: The Trump administration issued a legal opinion in December that reverses decades of government policy in protecting bird species under both Republican and Democratic administrations, the groups argue.

• Broad immunity for killing birds: “Under the Trump administration’s revised interpretation, the MBTA’s protections will apply only to activities that purposefully kill birds,” and won’t be enforced on the “incidental” killing of species “no matter how inevitable or devastating the impact on birds,” the groups said.

ENERGY DEPARTMENT JOINS ETHANOL DEBATE: The Energy Department is expected to join with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Agriculture Department Thursday to discuss moving forward on Trump’s deal to satisfy ethanol producers and refiners alike.

• Conflicting details: Details of the meeting have not been announced. Some informed observers say it is not clear who will attend.

• Two places at once? Politico reported that Energy Deputy Secretary Dan Brouillette would lead the discussions, but the Energy Department said last week that he will be in Denmark at the Clean Energy Ministerial to defend nuclear power’s role as a low-emission resource.

• Why talk ethanol? “Great events at #CEM9 this morning talking with international government and industry leaders in clean energy,” Brouillette tweeted Thursday morning from Denmark. “As the U.S. continues to lead the world in reducing carbon emissions, we also continue to work with our global partners towards a cleaner, more efficient future!”

GRASSLEY BLASTS EPA’S ‘BROKEN’ ETHANOL WAIVERS FOR BIG REFINERS: Sen. Chuck Grassley criticized EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt on Wednesday for running a “broken” ethanol program, after reports said Marathon Petroleum, the nation’s second largest refiner, is seeking a “hardship” waiver to not blend ethanol.

“That an oil company making billions of dollars in profits even thinks it has a shot at receiving a ‘hardship’ waiver proves how broken this process is,” the Iowa Republican said.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAILS ‘PRODUCTIVE’ TALKS WITH CALIFORNIA ON FUEL-EFFICIENCY RULES: The Trump administration said it looks forward to proposing new fuel-efficiency standards after holding “productive” talks with California air regulators Wednesday, according to the EPA and the Transportation Department.

“Today’s conversations between administration officials and the California Air Resources Board were productive,” the agencies said in a joint statement.

“We are fully supportive of an open dialogue that proceeds in an expedited manner,” and the agencies “look forward to moving ahead on a joint proposed rule and receiving practical and productive feedback from all stakeholders.”

But Mary Nichols, the head of the air board, only agreed to more talks, said a spokesman for the California agency.

“They agreed to have additional meetings in the future,” spokesman Stanley Young said.

CALIFORNIA AIR CHIEF SAYS PRUITT’S PLANS ARE ‘CRAP’: Nichols told Bloomberg in a sprawling interview published Wednesday that the Trump administration’s challenge to Obama-era auto-emission targets is “a piece of crap.”

Her goal is to continue to link California’s clean-air rules with Washington’s, as the state has done since 2009, she said. But “if the federal government is doing something that is illegitimate or does not make sense, we will not go along with it.’’

CALIFORNIA, OIL COMPANIES FACE OFF IN COURT OVER CLIMATE CHANGE: A federal judge in California Thursday morning will hear arguments from five oil companies seeking to dismiss a pair of climate change lawsuits filed by Oakland and San Francisco.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup will hear arguments in his San Francisco courtroom at 11 a.m. EDT.

The arguments come after Alsup held an unorthodox public tutorial on the science of climate change in connection with the lawsuits, at which both parties presented information on the subject.

• Hide and seek: The California cities argue that BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon and Shell promoted fossil fuel use and deliberately concealed that they knew climate change could harm coastal cities, meaning they should have to pay for seawalls and other infrastructure to protect against rising sea levels.

• Not for courts: Oil companies, meanwhile, argue that courts cannot rule on broad and speculative issues such as the impact of business decisions on climate change. They also say the case should be dismissed because their operations aren’t specifically connected to California. BP and Shell aren’t based in the U.S.

• Friend of Trump: The Trump administration is siding with the five companies, writing a friend-of-the-court brief, contending that ruling against them would empower “every person on the planet” to file similar claims.

• Precedent: In March, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by Exxon in a similar case, where the oil giant tried to stop a probe by New York and Massachusetts into whether it lied to investors and the public about its knowledge of climate change.

PJM AUCTION UNDERSCORES SOME OF PERRY’S GRID CONCERNS: Prices are rising in the nation’s largest federally overseen electricity market, PJM Interconnection.

PJM announced the price increases Wednesday when it issued the results of last month’s power auction for 2021-2022.

• Price spike: “The auction produced a price of $140/megawatt-day for much of the PJM footprint, compared to $76.53/MW-day last year. Prices are higher in some regions due to transmission limits,” PJM said.

The price the grid operator will pay power plants to keep the lights on is rising as PJM stresses reliability as a number of coal and nuclear plants are set to retire by the time the prices kick in, according to Bloomberg.

• A hint of Rick Perry: The issue underscores some of the reasons why Energy Secretary Rick Perry proposed his grid resilience plan in the fall, which the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected.

Perry wanted to have PJM and other grid operators overseen by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission pay coal and nuclear plants for their ability to keep adequate amounts of fuel onsite to keep the lights on during major disruptions from storms or even a cyber attack.

• Good for merchant utilities: “Higher-than-expected prices are credit positive for all independent power producers operating in the region,” said Toby Shea, vice president at Moody’s Investors Service.

• Not so good for nuclear, maybe: But the higher prices for power plant capacity aren’t expected to be enough to stave off some of the nuclear power plant retirements slated in the next year, according to Reuters.

FIGHT BEGINS AT FERC BETWEEN POWER PLANTS AND NEW ENGLAND: Merchant power plant owners are asking FERC to reject a “premature and overbroad” proposal by the New England grid operator to allow a big older natural gas and oil plant to keep running beyond its closure date for reliability reasons.

• Fighting bailouts: The Electric Power Supply Association, which has been leading the fight against state bailouts of coal and nuclear plants, is formally protesting the grid operator’s waiver, asking FERC to reject the grid operator’s tariff and direct it look for other ways to resolve its reliability issues, according to the trade group’s formal complaint sent to FERC Wednesday.

• Big mystic: The reliability issues stem from the deactivation of Units 8 and 9 at the Mystic Generating Station.

FERC oversees the New England operator, which included the proposed waiver for Exelon’s Mystic plant in a filing that the commission must approve.

• Reliability issue is real, but …: “While EPSA has no reason to dispute the [grid operator’s] analysis or their understanding of what resources they need to operate the electric system, EPSA does not believe that the proposed waiver is justified as proposed or at this time, and that the ISO should first be required to explore other options that would be more consistent with its tariff and that will cause less distortion to the market or harm to other resources,” the complaint read.

• Perry in the power mix: EPSA is part of a large coalition that includes both the oil and renewable energy industries in opposing a request by utility First Energy for Perry do something similar to what the New England operator suggested, but on a much more massive scale.

• What’s in a grid? First Energy wants Perry to order PJM to allow coal and nuclear plants slated for retirement in the next three years to remain running for reliability reasons. PJM has said it doesn’t think that move is necessary.

MASSACHUSETTS, RHODE ISLAND ANNOUNCE AMERICA’S LARGEST OFFSHORE WIND FARM: Meanwhile, Massachusetts and Rhode Island on Wednesday awarded a combined 1,200 megawatts of contracts to become the nation’s first commercial scale offshore wind complex.

• Double whammy: In Massachusetts, a group made up of a Danish investment firm and a Spanish utility, plans to build an 800-megawatt wind farm off Martha’s Vineyard, enough to power a half a million homes.

At the same time, Rhode Island announced it would award a 400-megawatt offshore wind project to another bidder in the same auction.

• Just a breeze: The nation’s and only offshore wind project is Block Island off the coast of Rhode Island, a small farm producing 30 megawatts of electricity.

Offshore wind, a renewable energy source, has long struggled to gain traction in the U.S. to keep pace with Europe because of high costs, and state and local opposition from waterfront homeowners, fishermen, and more. But that is changing.

• ‘World class’: “With today’s landmark decisions, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are ready to pioneer large-scale offshore wind development that will light the way for our industry and nation,“ said Tom Kiernan, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association.

NASA CHIEF CONFIRMS EVOLVING CLIMATE CHANGE VIEWS: NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine confirmed his evolving views on climate change Wednesday, becoming the first high-level official in the Trump administration to unambiguously state that humans are the main cause of climate change.

During testimony to a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, asked Bridenstine whether he believes greenhouse gases are the primary cause of climate change.

• Study says: Bridenstine said he agreed, citing the conclusions of a comprehensive study of climate science by U.S. government researchers across 13 federal agencies that found humans are the “dominant cause” of global warming.

• ‘No reason to doubt’: “The National Climate Assessment, that includes NASA, and it includes the Department of Energy, and it includes NOAA, has clearly stated it is extremely likely, [that] is the language they use, that human activity is the dominant cause of global warming, and I have no reason to doubt the science that comes from that,” Bridenstine said.

• Change afoot: Bridenstine, a former conservative lawmaker from Oklahoma, had expressed denial of humans’ role in climate change before becoming NASA’s administrator last month.

Now that he heads an agency that studies the changing climate, Bridenstine is expressing new views.

“I fully believe and know that the climate is changing. I also know that we, human beings, are contributing to it in a major way,” Bridenstine told NASA employees at a town hall-style meeting a week ago.

KILDEE’S STAFF BARRED FROM ATTENDING PART OF EPA’S CHEMICALS SUMMIT: Rep. Dan Kildee, who represents Flint, Mich., the site of the 2014 lead water crisis, said Wednesday that his staff was barred from attending the second day of an Environmental Protection Agency summit on dangerous chemicals that have contaminated water supplies.

“My staff was not allowed to attend today’s @EPA #PFAS summit, and I represent communities affected by drinking water contamination. [EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s] lack of transparency and willingness to deny access to members of Congress and the media is deeply troubling,” the Michigan Democrat said in a Twitter post.

• Closed meeting: The EPA closed Wednesday’s session of the chemical summit to media and the public, saying the event was at capacity and is not subject to federal rules on public access.

The agency initially allowed only select reporters and the public to attend the first hour of Tuesday’s opening session of the summit, where Pruitt delivered an opening address. But after an outcry, the agency opened the afternoon session to everyone.

No show: Kildee’s staff was invited to Tuesday’s session, but did not attend it, the EPA said.

EPA EXTENDS COMMENT PERIOD FOR RULE COMBATING ‘SECRET SCIENCE’: The EPA said Thursday it is extending the comment period and hosting a public hearing on a proposed rule that would block the agency from using scientific studies that do not make public the raw data used in the research.

• Talking heads: Pruitt announced the proposed rule on April 30, with a 30-day comment period. The comment period will now close Aug. 17. The EPA is holding a public hearing for the proposed rule July 17 at its headquarters in Washington.

EPA has already received more than 96,000 comments.

• What’s in a rule: Supporters of the rule change said they want to end the use of “secret science” in rulemaking.

The proposed rule would have the effect of restricting the science the EPA could use when drafting environmental regulations, which critics say would allow the agency to justify weaker rules because it has less research to work with and can favor information that fits its goals, rather than relying on the best science.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY! Daily on Energy is taking off early for the holiday weekend. We’ll be back on Tuesday. Enjoy the long weekend and be sure to remember all who have served in the armed forces. And GO CAPS!

RUNDOWN

Washington Post White House considered whether to ‘ignore’ federal climate research

Bloomberg Climate change warriors’ latest weapon of choice is litigation

New York Times How more carbon dioxide can make food less nutritious

Reuters General Electric’s power unit fights for growth as wind, solar gain