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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 Renewable Requirement Leaves Municipals Exempt

LCG, Oct. 14, 2002--A bill signed into law by California Gov. Davis that requires power suppliers and marketers to sell an increasing amount of power sourced from renewables does not include municipal utilities.

The California law is much the same as similar laws in states such as Texas and Connecticut. A federal rule now being considered has elicited strong lobbying efforts by municipal utilities to exclude them from a national renewables standard. The reason many such utilities cite for their opposition is the need to keep prices low to customers, who are also owners.

"It frustrates me when environmental groups and the Green Party just sort of blindly support public power and assume it's going to be cleaner," Julia Levin, California policy coordinator with the Union of Concerned Scientists, told the Sacramento Bee. Some supporters of green power believe the inconsistency may contribute to more volatile power prices in the future, as non-municipal suppliers increase their purchases of renewable power by 1 percent of sales annually. The recently signed bill calls for a 20 percent minimum requirement.

There is wide variation among California municipal systems in the proportion of renewable generation sold, with Santa Clara's utility Silicon Valley Power ranking among the highest due to use of geothermal generation. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) relies very little on renewable sources (2%), and imports power from coal-fired plants in neighboring states. The LADWP says it may set renewable goals for itself next year.

David S. Freeman, who has headed both the Tennessee Valley Authority and the LADWP, said the focus of municipal systems on cost reduction and opposition to state-imposed requirements, "Is their attitude on this stuff smart? No. Is it right? No, but it's inbred."
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