EnergyOnline
Services

RSS FEED

EnergyOnline.com rss

News

Minnesota PUC Approves Operations Extension for Xcel Energy's Prairie Island Nuclear Plant

LCG, August 15, 2025--Xcel Energy announced that the company received state approval yesterday from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to extend operations of the Prairie Island nuclear plant through the early 2050s. Prairie Island has two units that have a combined generating capacity of 1,100 MW. The units’ current operating licenses expire in 2033 and 2034.

Read more

PGE Announces Addition of 475 MW of Battery Energy Storage Systems to Improve Grid Reliability and Costs

LCG, August 7, 2025--Portland General Electric (PGE) today announced the completion of three, four-hour lithium-ion utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Oregon, adding 475 MW and more than 1.9 GWh of dispatchable capacity to serve the Portland metro area. Each of these BESS facilities can deliver power during peak demand or when other electric generating facilities are limited, which improves system flexibility, reliability and costs.

Read more

Industry News

California Power Prices Golden for Reliant

LCG, Oct. 25, 2000--Reliant Energy Inc., the Houston-based electric utility active in the national merchant power movement, said this morning that power plants it acquired from Southern California Edison Co. made a major contribution to its record earnings.

Reliant said its third-quarter net income rose to $389 million, or $1.34 per share, from an adjusted $283 million, or $0.99 per share, from the same period last year.

Contributing to that 37 percent increase in profits was a sevenfold increase in operating income from its wholesale energy business, which consists of its merchant power plants and its electricity trading and marketing operations.

"Our strong commercial management of generating assets and commercial gas and power positions in attractive regions of the U.S. has allowed us to break out of the traditional role of a local energy provider. As markets evolve, we will continue to build business positions that capitalize on thesestrengths," said Steve Letbetter, chairman, president and chief executive.

The company said it enjoyed "higher energy sales and energy prices due to unique seasonal dynamics in the Western markets."

That Western market was California, where Reliant has 3,800 megawatts of generating capacity purchased from SoCal Ed when the Golden State's electric restructuring law encouraged state utilities to divest their power plants. That generation amounted to more than 8 percent of the state's peak demand on its hottest day this summer.

The Golden State proved golden for Reliant Energy in the third quarter.

Copyright © 2025 LCG Consulting. All rights reserved. Terms and Copyright
UPLAN-NPM
The Locational Marginal Price Model (LMP) Network Power Model
Uniform Storage Model
A Battery Simulation Model
UPLAN-ACE
Day Ahead and Real Time Market Simulation
UPLAN-G
The Gas Procurement and Competitive Analysis System
PLATO
Database of Plants, Loads, Assets, Transmission...
CAISO CRR Auctions
Monthly Price and Congestion Forecasting Service