** President Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Houston on Friday. White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said during a press briefing Tuesday that Biden will meet with local leaders to discuss the storm and relief efforts.
** Harris County officials in Texas are looking into leaving Texas’ power grid after ice storms knocked out the state’s power and left millions without electricity in freezing temperatures. The county is home to the city of Houston, the fourth-largest city in the US, and is home to over 4 million inhabitants.
** Already facing complaints of massive bills during last week’s winter storm, Texas electricity provider Griddy is now the subject of a proposed class action lawsuit seeking monetary relief of more than $1 billion.
** New Orleans begins an investigation of Entergy after the utility admits it cut three times as much power as needed on Mardi Gras.
** Communities in West Virginia begin their third week without power, with restoration in some remote places not expected until Friday.
** Mississippi regulators order Mississippi Power to close up to 950 MW of uneconomic coal and natural gas plants by 2027.
** Minnesota regulators open a formal investigation into an expected spike in utility bills from last week’s surge in U.S. gas prices; some customers are expected to pay $400 more for heating this month.
** The U.S. Postal Service orders a fleet of new delivery trucks that includes a mix of fossil-fuel and electric vehicles, falling short of President Biden’s goal of electrifying the federal fleet.
** A Maryland county signs a contract to lease 326 electric school buses, making it the largest municipal operator of electric vehicles in the country.
** Annapolis, Maryland files a lawsuit against large oil companies in state court alleging they concealed knowledge and risks associated with climate change.
** Electric car startup Lucid Motors raises $4 billion in a merger that will support expansion of its Arizona factory.