The Feds - New Administration - January 16

Articles and NewsClips about federal actions impacting Pennsylvania--

New Federal Administration

-- Gov. Shapiro Secures Federal Support To Extend PJM Electric Generation Auction Price Cap; Call For Emergency PJM Auction To ‘Build Big Power Plants Again’  [PaEN] 

-- PJM Interconnection Board Proposes Its Own New Plan To Integrate A.I. Data Centers, Large Loads Into Grid To Maintain Reliability  [PaEN]

-- AP: How The White House And Governors Want To Fix A.I.- Drive Power Shortages, Price Spikes

-- Reuters: White House Seeks Emergency Power Auction For Largest US Electric Grid [PJM]

-- Bloomberg: President Says He’ll Make Tech Firms Pay For Power; Calls For Emergency Electricity Auction In PJM

-- Utility Dive: US DOE, Interior Push PJM To Hold ‘Emergency’ Auction To Supply Data Centers

Federal Cuts, Staff Reductions

-- Action Needed Now! Western PA Coalition For Abandoned Mine Reclamation Urging Pennsylvanians To Contact PA US Senators And Oppose Raid On Abandoned Mine Reclamation Funds [And Abandoned Oil & Gas Well Plugging Funding]   [PaEN] 

-- Inside Climate News - Kiley Bense: Coal Communities Accuse Congress Of Breaking Its Promise To Clean Up Abandoned Mine Lands [And Plugging Abandoned Oil & Gas Wells] 

-- PA Capital-Star: Federal Budget Bill Would Raid Fund For Cleaning Up Abandoned Coal Mines, Plug Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells - Pennsylvania Would Be Hardest Hit By Cuts 

-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: President’s Dismantling The Agency That Warns Us About Weather Is A Scientific And Practical Disaster - By M. Granger Morgan, Carnegie Mellon University

-- Public News Service: Clean Energy Boom Adding Much-Needed Electric Generating Capacity To Grid In PA Threatened As Federal Funding Stalls  

Deregulation For Industry

-- E&E News/Politico: Energy Set To Dominate State Politics In Runup To Midterm Elections [PA Highlighted]  [PDF of Article]

-- E&ENews/Politico: Pipeline Safety Enforcement Cut In Half In President’s First Year

-- Post-Gazette/Wash Post: EPA Says It Will No Longer Consider Health Costs In Pollution Regulations, Just Costs To Businesses  [PDF of Article]

-- AP: US Carbon Pollution Rose In 2025, Experts Blame Cold Weather, High Natural Gas Prices, Data Centers

Reversing Course

-- PA Capital-Star: Federal Mine Safety Research Employees In PA Returned To Work

-- TribLive: President’s Administration Brings Back 900 Federal Workers At National Institute For Occupational Safety And Health Out Of Work For 9 Months [Including Mine Safety Workers]  

-- Inside Climate News: EPA Funding Salvaged In US Congress Spending Bill

President’s Tariffs

-- Inquirer: PA Logging Industry Groups Want A Bailout To Cope With Impacts Of President’s Tariffs, Without It They Say Mass Layoffs Could Be Next

Venezuela Action

-- Post-Gazette: How Will President’s Actions In Venezuela Impact Pennsylvania?

-- NYT: President’s Plans For Venezuelan Oil Run Headlong Into Reality

[Posted: January 16, 2026]