Friday PA Environment & Energy Articles - NewsClips: 6.26.26

“The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.”

-- Article I, Section 27 Pennsylvania Constitution  [It’s Not A Suggestion]

House Voting Schedule

June 26 (non-voting), 27 (non-voting), 28 (non-voting), 29, 30

September 28, 29, 30

October 5, 6, 7, 19, 20, 21

November 9, 10

-- Committee Schedule

Senate Voting Schedule

June - Call Of The Senate President Pro Tempore

-- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events 

Anything Can Happen: June State Budget Marathon Happening NOW!

June 26-27-- In-Person. PA Firefly Festival Exhibits & Entertainment In Downtown Tionesta, Forest County 

June 30-- House Communications & Technology Committee informational meeting on - Is There Life Beyond Earth? What Science And Government Are Doing To Find Out.  Room 205 Ryan Building. 10:00 a.m.  Click Here to watch online.

June 30-- In-Person. PUC Announces 2 Hearings On Proposed PPL Utilities Transmission Line Projects In Hazle Twp., Luzerne County Serving Project Hazelnut A.I. Data Centers. 1:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m.

June 30-- In-Person. Penn State Extension Workshop  On Understanding PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ In Private Water Supplies. Punxsutawney, Jefferson County. 1:00 p.m.

July 8-- Agenda Posted. DEP Water Resources Advisory Committee meeting. Rachel Carson Building, Harrisburg. 9:30 a.m.

July 8-- DEP State Board for Certification of Sewage Enforcement Officers meeting. Rachel Carson Building, Harrisburg. 10:00 a.m.

July 8-- DEP Technical Advisory Committee on Diesel-Powered [Mining] Equipment Meeting. DEP New Stanton Office.  10:00 a.m.

July 9-- DCNR Delaware Canal State Park Advisory Committee meeting. Delaware Canal State Park, Bucks & Northampton Counties. 10:30 a.m.  Contact for Location: 610-982-5560 or ra-nrspdela@pa.gov. (formal notice)

July 10-- Telephonic. Public Utility Commission Hearing On PPL Condemnation Of 30 Properties For The Sugarloaf 500/230KV Transmission Line In Luzerne County To Serve Data Centers 10:00 a.m.

July 14-- Environmental Quality Board meeting. 9:00 a.m. Contact: Laura Griffin, Regulatory Coordinator, laurgriffi@pa.gov,  (717) 772-3277.

July 14--  Virtual. Penn State Extension Webinar: Preview Of 2026 Watershed-Friendly Tree And Shrub Sale To Help You Choose Plants Confidently. 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.

-- PA House Passed 20 A.I. Data Center Bills, Many By Lopsided Bipartisan Votes; PA Senate Acts On Tax Changes  [PaEN] 

-- PA House Nearly Unanimously Passes Bill To Repeal State Data Center Computer Equipment Sales Tax Exemption  [PaEN] 

-- PennLive: PA Senate Passes Bill With Changes To Tax Code, Including Repealing Data Center Sales Tax Exemption; Eliminating 6% Gross Receipts Tax On Electricity; Opening Sales Tax Holiday For School Supplies; Other Changes

-- City & State PA: In Bipartisan Fashion, PA Lawmakers Vote To Repeal Sales Tax Exemption For A.I. Data Centers 197-5 

-- Spotlight PA: Shapiro Wants To Use Tax Incentives To Push A.I. Data Centers To Behave Better; His Own Party And Republicans Want To Repeal Them

-- WESA: PA Lawmakers Weigh Whether To Rein In A.I. Data Center Construction With A Carrot Or A Stick

-- PJM Interconnection Holds Next Generation Capacity Auction June 30, Results To Be Announced July 14  [PaEN]

-- PJM Adds New Emergency Procedures To Deal With Strained Grid: A Capacity Advisory; Directive For Data Centers To Use Backup Generators  [PaEN] 

-- PJM Interconnection Issues Hot Weather Alert For June 29 In Western Region, June 30 to July 3 For Entire Service Area; 5th Alert This Season  [PaEN] 

-- Spotlight PA: President’s Cuts To Clean Energy Tax Credits Threaten Planned Renewable Projects Across PA

-- Deadline Extended! DEP Extends Deadline To Apply For RISE PA Decarbonization Grants To July 31 

-- Inquirer - Frank Kummer: Negotiations On Proposed LNG Natural Gas Export Facility In Eddystone Boro On Delaware River Occurring In Secret Under Nondisclosure Agreements With State Officials In Delaware County

-- WHYY: Firefighters Contain Large Fire At Monroe Energy Refinery In Delaware County; Shelter-In-Place Order Remains Active 

-- Inside Climate News - Jon Hurdle: PA Act 13 Shale Gas Impact Fee Revenue Lags Far Behind Other Energy States, Report Says 

-- Penn State Extension Hosts Aug. 26 Webinar On Radioactive Radium And Salinity In Groundwater And How It Affects Drinking Water; Featured Speaker Has Researched Contaminated Groundwater From Oil & Gas Development  [PaEN] 

-- The Allegheny Front: Groups Say Nippon Steel Investments Will Perpetuate Coal And Air Pollution In The Mon Valley

-- Williamsport Sun: Muncy Creek Twp. Supervisors OK Conditional Use For Solar Energy Facility, Chicken Egg Farm In Lycoming County

-- Agricultural Conservation Assistance Program Ag Conservation Con Set For Sept. 15-17 At Indiana University Of PA  [PaEN]  

-- NRCS-PA Announces Funding To Address Resource Concerns At Mushroom Composting Sites In Southern Chester County  

-- TribLive: Community Gardens Sprout Opportunity, Produce Across Western PA

-- June 27 - Pennsylvania Bulletin Now Available

-- WPSU: Community Discusses Hopes, Concerns For Future Land Use Of 5,700 Acres At Recently Closed Rockview Prison In Centre County

-- Centre Daily Times: Environmentalists Discuss Future Of Rockview Land: ‘Its Use In The Future Will Affect All Of Us’

-- DCNR Now Accepting Nominations For 2027 Pennsylvania Trail Of The Year  [PaEN] 

-- PA House Passes Bill To Encourage Pollinator, Native Insect Habitat On State-Owned Property  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Master Gardeners Of Cumberland County Host Aug. 13 In-Person Workshop On Gardening With Nature - Prairie Pockets - Plants For People And Pollinators  [PaEN]

 A.I. /Data Centers

-- TheDerrick.com: Scrubgrass Twp. Planning Commission Meeting Overrun By A.I. Data Center Concerns In Venango County

-- PennLive: West Rockhill Twp. Supervisors Opt To Let ‘Citizens Group’ Craft Data Center Rules In Private, Avoiding Sunshine Act In Bucks County

-- LancasterOnline: Here’s Where A.I. Data Centers Would Be Allowed Under Lancaster City’s Proposed Rules

-- Williamsport Sun: Muncy Twp. Planning Commission Weighs Options On Regulating A.I. Data Centers In Lycoming County

-- Post-Gazette/PennLive: As A.I. Data Center Backlash Grows, Bills Allowing Local Moratoriums, Limiting, Repealing State Tax Breaks Pass PA House

-- Observer-Reporter: PA House Sends 3 A.I. Data Center Bills To State Senate: Limits On And Repeal Of State Tax Exemption, 180-Day Local Moratoriums

-- TribLive/PennLive: Three Mile Island Nuclear Data Center Power Plant Restart Deal Was Secret, A Constellation Energy Nuclear Engineer Manager Used The Info To Make $1.4 Million, Grand Jury Indictment Says

-- Erie Times/USA Today: PA House Bill Would Make Data Centers Pay Seniors’ Property Tax Bills

-- Utility Dive: North American Electric Reliability Corp: Deployable Generation Reserves Shrinking As Coal, Gas-Fired Power Plants Forced Outage Rates Rise 

-- Utility Dive: US DOE Orders Keeping Power Plants Open Beyond Their Closure Dates Are Incurring $550 Million In Added Costs, What Are The Benefits? 

-- The Economist: The A.I. Backlash Is Only Getting Started - Here’s How To Deal With It 

International/National Impacts On PA Natural Gas

[Energy Independence Means Renewables]

-- June 26: PA Average AAA Gasoline Price Down 2 Pennies From Yesterday, Now $4.03/Gallon - $.92/Gallon Higher Than On Feb. 27 [Beaver County Average Price Still Highest at $4.55]  

-- June 26: Average AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $3.90 Ohio- $3.90  PA- $4.03

-- Feb. 27: Average AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $2.98  Ohio- $2.79  PA- $3.11

-- Financial Times: Electricity Prices Soar As Europe Battles Heatwave; Bountiful Solar Energy Supply Kept Prices Low During The Day, But Without Storage Prices Spiked At Night

-- Bloomberg: Europe’s Heat Wave Is The Worst On Record, Researchers Find

-- AP: Europe’s Extreme Heat Would Be Impossible Without Climate Change, Scientists Say

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- VoteBeat: Federal Judge Blocks Key Pillars Of President’s Executive Order Restricting Mail Voting In 2026 Election 

-- TribLive: Westmoreland Sheriff Ends Federal ICE Partnership But Vows To Continue To Assist Outside Agencies

-- WESA: Uncertainty And Outrage In Charleroi’s Haitian Community In Washington County Over US Supreme Court Immigration Decision

-- TribLive/AP: Federal Judge Blocks President’s Plan To Limit Graduate Student Loans In Nursing, Other Fields

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Diversity - Equity - Inclusion

[Posted: June 26, 2026]  PA Environment Digest

PJM Interconnection Issues Hot Weather Alert For June 29 In Western Region, June 30 to July 3 For Entire Service Area; 5th Alert This Season

On June 26, the PJM Interconnection issued a Hot Weather Alert for its Western Region for June 29 and a Hot Weather Alert for the entire region PJM for June 30 to July 3 ahead of an expected prolonged period of 90+ degree weather.

Pennsylvania would be impacted by the June 30 and July 3 Alert.

PJM also issued a Maintenance Outage Recall on June 25 ahead of next week’s forecasted hot weather. 

The recall requests for all maintenance outages to be returned to service by June 29 to increase the amount of generation available to meet customer demand.

A Hot Weather Alert is an established procedure PJM issues ahead of forecasted hot weather and/or high humidity to prepare transmission and generation personnel and facilities for expected increases in electricity demand, or load. High temperatures are expected to remain in the 90s throughout the week of June 29.

This procedure does not require any action from customers.

Previous Hot Weather Alerts were issued for May 18 to 20, June 5-6, June 11-12 and June 18.

Forecasted Peaks

As of 5 a.m. on June 26, 2026, PJM is expecting to serve the following approximate peak loads on June 29 through July 2-- 

-- June 29 - 141,807 MW

-- June 30 - 150,188 MW

-- July 1 - 157,827 MW

-- July 2 - 160,892 MW

These numbers are official as of 5 a.m. on June 26, 2026. They are subject to change and will be updated periodically. PJM publishes load forecasts out to seven days on Data Miner.

PJM’s record summer hourly integrated peak is 165,563 MW, set in 2006.

Click Here for the PJM announcement.

The PJM Interconnection coordinates the wholesale electricity grid and markets for all or parts of 13 states—Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia—plus the District of Columbia.

Related Articles This Week:

-- Hundreds Of Residents From Communities Across PA Dealing With A.I. Data Center Development Rally At State Capitol To Support Bipartisan Legislation To Enact A 3-Year A.I.  Data Center Moratorium  [PaEN] 

-- PA House Passed 20 A.I. Data Center Bills, Many By Lopsided Bipartisan Votes; PA Senate Acts On Tax Changes  [PaEN] 

-- PA House Passes Bill Giving Individual Municipalities Authority To Pause Consideration Of A.I. Data Center Proposals For 6 Months  [PaEN] 

-- PA House Nearly Unanimously Passes Bill To Repeal State Data Center Computer Equipment Sales Tax Exemption  [PaEN]  

-- PA House Passes Bill Limiting State Data Center Sales Tax Exemption To Those Developers Following Gov. Shapiro's Responsible Infrastructure Development Standards  [PaEN]   

-- PA House Unanimously Passes Bill To Eliminate 6% Gross Receipts Tax On Electric Bills, Fix Electric, Natural Gas, Water, Wastewater Utility Ratemaking Process To Limit Shareholder Profits  [PaEN] 

-- PJM Interconnection Holds Next Generation Capacity Auction June 30, Results To Be Announced July 14  [PaEN] 

-- PJM Adds New Emergency Procedures To Deal With Strained Grid: A Capacity Advisory; Directive For Data Centers To Use Backup Generators  [PaEN] 

-- PJM Interconnection Issues Hot Weather Alert For June 29 In Western Region, June 30 to July 3 For Entire Service Area; 5th Alert This Season  [PaEN]

-- Lt. Gov. Davis Brings Together Utility Industry Experts To Highlight Solutions To Rising Energy Costs

-- Senate Democratic Policy Committee Holds Hearing On Solutions To Lower Consumer Electric Bills

NewsClips:

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Environmental Groups Push PA Lawmakers To Pass HB 1834 To Protect Ratepayers, Regulate A.I. Data Centers

-- PA Capital-Star: PA House Passes Bill With $1.7 Billion Tax Cut On Electricity, Reins In Public Utility Company Profits [Electric, Natural Gas, Water, Wastewater] By Setting New Rate Formula

-- House Unanimously Passed Bill To Base All Electric, Natural Gas, Water And Wastewater Rates On A Market-Based Return On Equity To Address  Increasing Utility Bills  [House Bill 2224]

-- PennLive: PA Senate Passes Bill With Changes To Tax Code, Including Repealing Data Center Sales Tax Exemption; Eliminating 6% Gross Receipts Tax On Electricity; Opening Sales Tax Holiday For School Supplies; Other Changes

-- The Citizens’ Voice: Project Hazelnut A.I. Data Center Offers $10,000 To Hazle Twp. Households As An Incentive To Approve The Plan  [4,505 Households In Twp. - $45 Million]

-- Inquirer: Constellation Energy Three Mile Island Nuclear Data Center Power Plant Engineer Manager Indicted On Federal Insider Trading Charges Of Illegally Profiting On Stock Options Related To The Plant Reopening

-- PennLive: Amid Growing Voter Outcry, A.I. Data Centers Have Emerged As An Election Issue For PA Lawmakers

-- PennLive: Massive 3,200 Acre Homer City A.I. Data Center Campus, 4.5 GW Gas Power Plant Swallowing Tiny PA Coal Town In Indiana County: ‘It Will Devour The Future’

-- Republican Herald: Mount Carmel Area Residents Concerned About Data Centers Launch New Grassroots Group Aimed At Giving Coal Region Communities A Stronger Voice 

-- PennLive: Western PA Coal Towns Are Ground Zero For A.I. Data Centers: ‘A Boom Coming’ 

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: How A.I. Data Centers Lost The PR War And What It Means For Business

-- AP: A.I. Is An Energy And Water Hog, Here’s What You Can Do To Counter That

-- Utility Dive: Grid Operators Making Significant Progress In Generation Queues, But No Evidence Requests Are Being Processed More Quickly; Fast-Track Policies Promote Fossil-Fuel Heavy Generation 

-- Utility Dive: North American Electric Reliability Corp: Deployable Generation Reserves Shrinking As Coal, Gas-Fired Power Plants Forced Outage Rates Rise

-- Utility Dive: US DOE Orders Keeping Power Plants Open Beyond Their Closure Dates Are Incurring $550 Million In Added Costs, What Are The Benefits?

-- Utility Dive: US DOE Offers $17.5 Billion In Loans For 10 Westinghouse Nuclear Power Reactors; Westinghouse Has Signed Letters Of Intent With 7 Partners, Each With Identified Project Sites 

-- Wall Street Journal: A.I. Data Center Boom Sparking Third Wave Of Inflation - Cost Of Computer Chips - Following Energy, Labor & Constructions Costs

[Posted: June 26, 2026]  PA Environment Digest