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Oklo and Siemens Energy Sign Agreement to Accelerate Power Conversion System for New SMR in Idaho

LCG, November 19, 2025--Oklo Inc. and Siemens Energy announced today that the parties have signed a binding contract for the design and delivery of the power conversion system for Oklo’s Aurora-INL (Idaho National Laboratory) nuclear small modular reactor (SMR). The agreement authorizes Siemens Energy to begin engineering and design work to expedite procurement of long-lead components and to initiate the manufacturing process for the power conversion system. Oklo’s expertise in advanced fission technology will be combined with Siemens Energy’s extensive industry experience with steam turbine and generator systems, with the ultimate goal of generating carbon-free, reliable electricity.

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NERC's New Winter Reliability Assessment Raises Concerns for Elevated Risk of Insufficient Supplies to Meet Demand in Extreme Operating Conditions

LCG, November 19, 2025--NERC yesterday released its 2025–2026 Winter Reliability Assessment (WRA), which concludes "much of North America is again at an elevated risk of having insufficient energy supplies to meet demand in extreme operating conditions." The WRA does state that resources are adequate for normal winter peak demand, but extended, wide-area cold snaps will be challenging.

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Industry News

California Muni Adds Capacity to Keep Rates Low

LCG, Dec. 14, 2000--Not everybody in California is suffering from the insufficiency of electric power in the state. The City of Redding plans to add 54 megawatts of generation to the city power plant, boosting its capacity by 50 percent, and paying for the improvement with "other people's money."

The Redding Record-Searchlight, a local daily, reported yesterday that the City Council had unanimously approved the $41 million addition to the municipal power plant.

The city's electric department will install a new 43 megawatt natural gas-fueled turbine and a heat recovery steam generator that will use the turbine's exhaust to boost production from an existing steam turbine by 11 megawatts.

Throughout California's six-month power shortage, Redding and other municipalities that own generation have been called upon by the California Independent System Operator to run their plants full time to provide the thin margin of reserve power that has kept the state's electric transmission system from collapsing.

Within limitations imposed by a series of price caps, much of that power went for top dollar on the state's spot market. Redding officials say that at least two-thirds of the cost of the plant addition will be paid for by revenues generated by the power sales.

"We're essentially going to build this plant with other people's money," Redding Vice Mayor Pat Kight told the Record-Searchlight. "It's not costing the city anything and it guarantees low rates," he said. "If we end up selling more power with this plant, that's just a plus."

When California restructured its electric industry, the City of Redding was faced with staggering potential stranded costs exceeding $200 million -- a lot of money for a mid-sized town located 200 miles north of San Francisco.

To pay down the debt, the city imposed a 23 percent rate hike on its citizens, boosting their electricity costs from about 8 cents per kilowatt-hour to around 10 cents. That surcharge was to last until 2004, but the power sales that will pay for the plant addition have also enabled Redding to accelerate the paydown of its indebtedness. The surcharge is now scheduled to vanish in 2002, two years ahead of schedule.

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