Joshua Basseches

US insurance prices will rise if climate science center closes, actuaries warn An industry group told federal officials that losing the National Center for Atmospheric Research would weaken insurance “stability and affordability.”

In the absence of reliable data, driving blind, do you think actuaries will err on the side of higher premiums or lower ones? 🤔 (2/2)
www.eenews.net/articles/us-...

NCAR, which Russ Vought and the Project 2025 gang are trying to dismantle, isn't "one of the largest sources of climate alarmism." It's a tremendous resource that provides data insurance companies use to determine property insurance premiums. (1/2)

House approves bill to undo IRA efficiency programs Republicans have put forth a string of bills against federal energy efficiency programs and rules.

At a time everyone is complaining about electricity affordability, House GOP wants to eliminate programs that help low-and-middle income Americans reduce their electricity consumption:
www.eenews.net/articles/hou...

Why the tab for powering data centers will keep rising — despite Trump’s pledge Trump’s promise to protect power customers’ wallets from data centers covers only part of the costs of expanding AI.

Don't be fooled by "pledges" from this White House. State public utility commissions and regional transmission organizations (under FERC's loose supervision) will determine who actually pays for the data centers' insatiable thirst for power:
www.eenews.net/articles/why...

Balcony solar is taking state legislatures by storm In more than half of U.S. states, Republican and Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation that would boost adoption of DIY solar systems.

Lawmakers in 28 states have introduced bills that would let households install do-it-yourself, plug-in solar systems — aka “balcony solar.” Some of the lawmakers are Republican, too! www.canarymedia.com/articles/sol... via @alisontakemura.bsky.social

4 takeaways from the DC Circuit’s big climate hearing Nonprofits appeared likely to prevail on their argument that the Trump administration wrongly terminated their Biden-era grants.

#ClimateInTheCourts
www.eenews.net/articles/4-t...

House Democrats move to slash Mass Save budget in sweeping energy package designed to lower utility bills - The Boston Globe House leaders are expected to vote Thursday on a bill that would spur more renewable energy in the state while slashing funding for the state’s energy efficiency program, Mass Save, by $1 billion.

If MA politicians want to save ratepayers money on their electric bill, why would they undermine a program that is ultimately designed to reduce consumption? Why not instead rein in utility ROE or pursue other ratemaking reforms?
www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/24/m...

EPA hands Wyoming oversight of coal ash dumps The largest coal-producing state in the nation is now the fifth authorized to run a permit program for coal waste dumps and landfills.

There's a reason the feds were doing this in the first place ... This admin is happy to attack states for pursuing clean energy, but when it comes to environmental protection, they (& their polluting friends) prefer to let under-resourced states handle it:
www.eenews.net/articles/epa...

Scott Wiener unveils new bill to help cities break up with PG&E The San Francisco lawmaker wants to give cities more power to split with their private utilities by reducing the role of a state regulator.

California legislation aims to facilitate utility municipalization:
sfstandard.com/2026/02/23/s...

After beating Trump, offshore wind project aims to produce power next month The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is expected to provide enough electricity to power 660,000 homes.

👏. That's a lot of carbon-free energy, which is exactly why it was so threatening to this administration's oil and gas industry friends ("national security risks" = BS).
www.eenews.net/articles/aft...

Regulators rely on fossil fuel industry data. How often is it wrong? From Colorado to Texas, government officials are grappling with concerns about unreliable reports from oil and gas companies.

"The major problem, analysts and environmental groups say, is that governments often lack the staff and resources to properly vet data — making it difficult for agencies to track how accurate the data and reports they receive are."
www.eenews.net/articles/reg...

Trump’s Greenhouse Gas Rule Will Get a Court Test Sooner Than We Thought The Supreme Court agreed to hear Suncor Energy Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County, which concerns jurisdiction for “public nuisance” claims.

#ClimateInTheCourts
heatmap.news/climate/enda...

States snub Trump’s plan to ease ‘forever chemicals’ limits EPA’s stalled rollback of its PFAS drinking water rule has led to a patchwork of states sticking to the Biden-era regulation.

Given ever-increasing vacuum at the EPA, state leadership on environmental regulation is more important now than ever:
www.eenews.net/articles/sta...

New Jersey regulators take first step to reform electric utility business model Performance-based ratemaking, multiyear rate plans and lower utility returns are all options the Board of Public Utilities plans to consider. It recently approved hiring a consultant to assist a poten...

NJ definitely a state to watch on the electric affordability file. While using RGGI revenues is a "bandaid" that may have unintended consequences, some of the other reforms now being considered (described in this article) could have a real enduring impact:
www.utilitydive.com/news/new-jer...

Court: Duke Energy improperly raised rates but customers won’t get a refund A North Carolina Court of Appeals decision found that the North Carolina Utilities Commission improperly approved a rate increase for Duke Energy Carolinas customers in 2024.

This NC case shows how investor-owned utilities have designed playing field in which they always win. Court sides w/ ratepayers, but law on the books (which Duke presumably helped write) - ironically called the "Power Bill Reduction Act" - means no refund.

I teach a class in which students can choose a policy change to pursue through the political process (they devise a strategic plan for their final). The most commonly chosen issue, of course, changes with the times. This time around AI regulation is in the lead by a lot.

Offshore wind backers tap affordability to blunt Trump’s attacks Leaning into concerns about rising energy costs could help pending projects build support after recent court wins, wind supporters say.

"Weeks after receiving relief from federal judges to allow their projects to continue construction, the developers have yet to see details of Department of Defense reports that the Interior Department cited when pausing construction in December."
www.eenews.net/articles/off...

The reality here is that universities would love to hire visible and capable conservative scholars. That they have to create separate centers, and then hire people who would never make it in an open search, underlines the fact that its not anti-conservative bias, its a lack of strong candidates.

Who Has a Voice in the Energy Transition in the U.S. States? A Fifty-State Study of Local News With federal climate and energy policy largely gridlocked, statelevel renewable portfolio standards (RPSs) were the central tool adopted in the United States on climate change for decades. RPSs var...

New Research: utilities dominate press coverage of state-level RPS policies:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Why do we now live in a country where Mayor of NYC needs to personally ask the President to release a college student who should have never been arrested in the first place (and who was reportedly arrested in her dorm room after federal agents lied to gain entry). What happened to “law and order”?

As load grows, Southern raises spending plan to $81B The utility company’s large load pipeline now sits at 75 GW, with 10 GW fully contracted.

A huge delta here between fully contracted power vs. "large load pipeline." Important to ensure the "large load pipeline" isn't a "pipe dream."
www.utilitydive.com/news/souther...

New England Lawmakers Weigh Plug-in Solar as Europe’s Model Spreads - Inside Climate News Legislation in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island would allow small solar panels to plug directly into home outlets, expanding access to clean energy.

#EnergyFreedom
insideclimatenews.org/news/1802202...

Could a New Illinois Bill Be a Blueprint for Curbing Data Centers’ Climate Impacts? - Inside Climate News As data centers drive up energy demand, water usage and utility bills, advocates seek to make companies mitigate their climate and economic impacts.

Coverage of Illinois legislation to mitigate data center impacts:
insideclimatenews.org/news/1902202...

Children’s participation in international organizations: Individual petitions in the United Nations Recent scholarship in international relations has shown that nonstate actors’ access to international institutions has expanded, including for victims of human rights abuse. Yet, although children ...

Assistant Professor @rjschoner.bsky.social has published her article "Children’s participation in international organizations: Individual petitions in the United Nations" with @andreavilan.bsky.social in the Journal of Human Rights. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Individual Mobilization by Victims of Human Rights Abuse: Who Files Petitions in the United Nations? Abstract. Who files petitions against repressive regimes in the United Nations? Victims of human rights abuse face high personal costs of participation, in

As political scientists, we really want to know when, where, and why people mobilize against repressive governments.

Happy to share my latest article is out that helps us understand this in a specific context: intl legal petitions in the UN. How do courageous individuals overcome barriers?

Pritzker cites property insurance ‘crisis’ to urge new regulation The Illinois governor is personally urging state lawmakers to approve changes that would make it harder for insurers to raise rates.

Pritzker seems like a good model right now of what it looks like to govern with an affordability agenda as opposed to just talking about it:
www.eenews.net/articles/pri...

Mikie Sherrill uses New Jersey’s RGGI funds for affordability The governor's move will redirect money from programs like energy efficiency.

If the goal of RGGI is to reduce GHG emissions (as it initially was when created), then using revenues for unrelated purposes is unwise. However, as electric affordability crisis mounts, it's unsurprising state leaders look first to "low-hanging fruit":
www.eenews.net/articles/mik...

EPA endangerment repeal could expose industry to legal blowback Legal experts warn that scrapping the scientific finding may undermine federal preemption defenses, opening the door to a wave of state lawsuits against

With Endangerment Finding repeal, battle over EPA regulation of greenhouse gases moves to the courts, where plenty of complications and uncertainties await:
www.eenews.net/articles/epa...

My research shows that utility lobbying in state legislatures has prioritized flexibility with regard to rate case timing, among other devices that collectively ensure a playing field that the companies themselves largely designed. (2/2)

How Private Equity Is Driving Up Your Electric Bill A guaranteed rate of return with zero risk is number go up nirvana.

Great podcast episode. I recommend the whole thing but was especially struck by Fmr. Commissioner Gillett's point about investor-owned utilities "controlling the timing" of rate increase requests. (1/2)
www.organizedmoney.fm/p/how-privat...