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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

Court of Appeals Vacates EPA's CSAPR

LCG, August 23, 2012--The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in a 2-1 decision, overturned on Tuesday the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), which targets emission reductions. The court's action provides some level of regulatory relief with respect to sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions for owners of coal-fired power plants located in 28 states.

CSAPR would have replaced a rule promulgated by the EPA in 2005, the Clean Air Interstate Rule ("CAIR"). The court opinion stated that the CSAPR exceeded the EPA's statutory authority which only requires upwind states to reduce "significant contributions" to a downwind state's pollution levels. In addition, the court found that the rule did not allow the states an opportunity
to establish their own State Implementation Plans (SIPs) to reduce emissions, as provided for in the Clean Air Act (CAA).

Attorneys general from mostly Southern and Midwestern states brought the legal action against CSAPR, and interveners include a number of utilities that own coal-fired power plants.

CSAPR "had potentially far-reaching reliability impacts for a grid in which electric use is growing far more rapidly than new generation resources are being built to serve that need," said the chief executive of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which oversees power delivery for most of Texas.

The EPA is reviewing the decision to determine whether or not it will appeal the ruling. CAIR will remain in place while the EPA is directed to promulgate a new rule complying with the Court's decision and the Clean Air Act.

Owners of coal-fired plants will need to continue to address regulatory pressures from the EPA's Mercury Air Toxics Standard (MATS), together with evolving water and coal combustion residue (CCR) regulations. Setting aside regulatory challenges, low natural gas prices provide a competitive challenge for coal plants as well.
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