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News
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LCG, May 30, 2025--NuScale Power Corporation (NuScale), a leading provider of advanced small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear technology, yesterday announced that it has received design approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for its uprated 77 MW power modules. NuScale states that it remains the only SMR technology company with design approval from the NRC, and the company remains on track for deployment by 2030, with 50- and 77-MW SMR options.
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LCG, May 29, 2025--The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released an analysis yesterday showing that the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), the grid operator for most of the state, is increasing its curtailment of the rapidly growing solar- and wind-powered generation facilities in order to balance electricity supply and demand, which is necessary to maintain a stable electric system.
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Industry News
FERC Releases the 2025 Summer Assessment for Energy Markets and Electric Reliability
LCG, May 15, 2025--The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced today the release of the staff’s 2025 Summer Assessment on the outlook for energy markets and electric reliability during the June to September time frame.
If normal operating conditions prevail, the assessment outlook is that all regions of the country will have adequate generating resources to meet summer demand and operating reserve requirements. However, the assessment expects margins getting tighter as generation resources retire while the load increases, which is caused primarily by hyperscale users, such as data centers.
The FERC Chairman stated, “We are losing dispatchable generation at a pace that is not sustainable and we are not adding sufficient equivalent generation capacity. Today’s assessment brings that point home, and I’m looking forward to discussing resource adequacy issues in great depth at the technical conference we are having on June 4 and 5 here at FERC.”
The assessment outlines how regions such as Northeast Power Coordinating Council (NPCC)-New England, Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO), the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), Southwest Power Pool (SPP) and PJM Interconnection may face a higher likelihood of tight generation availability due to above-normal electricity demand, periods of low wind and solar output, wildfires that disrupt available transfers and generator availability, and retirements of generation capacity.
Furthermore, warmer-than-average temperatures are anticipated to occur this summer, and load is expected to be higher this summer compared to the past four summers. Thus the electric grid will likely be challenged throughout the continental United States with increased uncertainty due to weather events, weather forecasting, and energy demand.
With respect to energy prices, the assessment is that wholesale electricity prices are expected to be higher this summer as compared to last summer in most regions, especially in the Northeast. The price increase is caused in part by higher natural gas prices at all major trading hubs across the country as a result of lower natural gas storage levels due to a colder winter than previous years.
The assessment incorporates EIA projections of average summer wholesale electricity prices to be $43.90/MWh this summer, or a 12 percent increase over prices last summer. Regionally, the Northeast is projected to see the largest increase in wholesale electric prices this summer compared to summer 2024. NYISO is forecast to increase 30 percent from 2024, with an average summer price of $51.65/MWh. The SPP average summer wholesale electric prices are expected to increase by 22 percent from last year to $52.96/MWh. ERCOT, which is expected to add roughly 20 GW of net summer capacity since last summer, is the only region expected to see a price decrease. Relative to 2024 summer prices, ERCOT is forecast to decline 10 percent to $35.02/MWh.
Regarding completed electric capacity additions from October 2024 through September 2025 (based on EIA data), net summer capacity additions are expected to total about 64 GW, which is 77 percent higher than the average net summer capacity additions seen in the last five years. Most of these additions are from solar, battery, and wind facilities.
With respect to retirements, there are 10 GW of retirements, primarily from coal and natural gas facilities, expected over the October 2024 through September 2025 period. The 10 GW of retirements includes 4 GW of planned natural gas net summer capacity retirements, while 36 GW of solar net summer capacity is planned to be added. The report notes that the intermittent characteristics of solar and wind facilities does not replace the retired thermal capacity from coal, natural gas, or oil units on a one-for-one basis.
Across all regions, the assessment estimates that the share of natural gas net summer capacity would decrease from 42 percent to 40.6 percent, while the share of solar net summer capacity would increase from 9 percent to 12 percent. All other resource types are expected to see installed capacity share changes of less than one and a half percentage point, with coal at 13.4 percent, wind at 12.5 percent, and nuclear and hydro both at 8 percent.
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UPLAN-NPM
The Locational Marginal Price Model (LMP) Network Power Model
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UPLAN-ACE
Day Ahead and Real Time Market Simulation
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UPLAN-G
The Gas Procurement and Competitive Analysis System
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PLATO
Database of Plants, Loads, Assets, Transmission...
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