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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.

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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.

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Industry News

PPL Montana Leery of Mounting California Debt

LCG, Dec. 18, 2000--PPL Montana, the power producing firm formed when PPL Corp. of Pennsylvania purchased the generation assets of Montana Power Co., said Friday it would go on shipping some power to California, but was keeping a close watch on the Golden State's bank balance.

"The primary obligation of PPL Montana is to supply the needs of the customers of the Montana Power Co. under a long-term contract," said Roger Petersen, president of PPL Montana. "We have been operating these plants at full capacity, regularly selling electricity to other electric utilities in the Northwest, and to California entities that can move power directly into that state."

PPL Montana sells electricity not needed in its home state into the wholesale power market of the Western Systems Coordinating Council, which covers the 14 western states. Power sold anywhere into that system can be of benefit to California. But PPL wants to make sure California can pay its bills.

"We have been monitoring the situation in California very carefully and we are doing our part -- within the guidelines of our risk management program -- to provide needed electricity," said LarryDe Simone, president of PPL Energy Plus, the company that markets electricity produced at all ofPPL Corp. power plants.

"At PPL, we have a very disciplined approach to the energy marketing business and that includes managing our exposure to credit risk," De Simone added. "The mounting debt of the California ISO members, and their continuing ability to pay the California ISO for power, is a concern that we have addressed to protect the interests of PPL shareowners."

De Simone acknowledged that his company had received a directive from the U.S. Department of Energy to continue to sell power to California purchasers. "While we still have significant concernsabout the creditworthiness of the California ISO, we will comply with the DOE order to supply thatmarket directly, after we have met our firm contractual obligations to Montana Power and to otherparties in the Western Systems Coordinating Council," he said.

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