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EIA Analysis of Southwest Hydropower Generation Shows Record Lows and Slow Recovery

LCG, November 13, 2026--The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) today issued an "In-Brief Analysis" highlighting the record lows for hydropower generation in the Southwest this summer. The prolonged drought conditions affecting the Colorado River Basin caused record low hydropower generation this summer in the Southwestern electricity supply region, which includes Arizona, New Mexico, and small parts of Nevada and California. Hydropower generation from April through August 2026 was a full 28 percent lower than the 10-year average and 19 percent lower than during the same period last year.

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NRC Issues Construction Permit for Long Mott High-Temperature, Gas-Cooled Reactor in Texas

LCG, November 11, 2026--The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced on November 9 that it has approved the Construction Permit Application ("CPA") for the Long Mott Generating Station in Texas. Long Mott Energy, LLC (LME) must obtain a separate operating license from the NRC before loading fuel or operating the reactors.

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Industry News

FERC Asked to Ease Caps on Northwest Power Prices

LCG, Aug. 31, 2001--A power planning group formed by the governors of four states in the Pacific Northwest has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to relax their price caps on electricity because of concern that the controls could restrict power supplies this winter.

The Northwest Power Planning Council says FERC's pricing formula, imposed in June on 11 states in the West, is based solely on the cost of producing power in California, which has little relevance for Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

In California, peak demand occurs during the summer when air conditioners are fighting a hot climate and drops during the clement winters. The situation is just the opposite in the Northwest, where many homes are heated by electricity and the winters are cold.

The council fears that FERC's pricing formula could keep prices artificially low in the Northwest and deter power producers from selling electricity into the regional market, just when it's needed most.

The council recommended several changes to FERC's rule, including one that would base power prices on the cost of production, and voted 6-2 to file the petition with FERC.

Another of the recommendations would require power producers in California to sell electricity into the four Northwestern states -- the reverse of Clinton administration rulings when the Department of Energy ordered Northwestern power producers to sell power to California during that state's energy emergencies last fall.

Those sales resulted in power shortages in the Northwest and higher prices for consumers in the four states.

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