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Wärtsilä to Supply the Engineering and Equipment to East Kentucky Power Cooperative for 217-MW Power Plant

LCG, August 27, 2025--Wärtsilä Energy announced yesterday an agreement with East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) to supply the engineering and equipment for a 217-MW power plant to be constructed in Liberty, Kentucky. The Wärtsilä equipment is scheduled for delivery in mid-2027, and the plant is expected to be commissioned in early 2028.

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TerraPower, Utah's Office of Energy Development, and Flagship Companies Sign MOU to Identify Sites for Advanced Nuclear Reactors

LCG, August 25, 2025--The Utah Office of Energy Development (OED), TerraPower and Flagship Companies announced today the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore the potential siting of a Natrium® nuclear reactor and energy storage plant in Utah. The MOU establishes a shared commitment to support advanced nuclear technologies to build Utah’s energy future and to prioritize reliability, economic growth and energy abundance.

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Industry News

New Problem for Cal-ISO: Interruptible Contracts Used Up

LCG, Jan. 23, 2001The California Independent System Operator, whenever it calls a "Stage 2" electricity emergency, orders the state's investor-owned electric utilities to shed load by shutting off power to industrial customers who have signed interruptible contracts in exchange for lower prices.

The move can reduce demand by almost 3,000 megawatts and help Cal-ISO avoid ordering rolling blackouts to protect California's shaky transmission grid. The agency declared more than 20 such emergencies last summer and since last fall has kept the state on what seems to be a perpetual Stage 2 alert.

Interruptible contracts, it turns out, aren't forever. Companies that signed them didn't agree to send their workers home every day. Permanente Cement Co. on the San Francisco Peninsula, for example, can be asked to interrupt its electric service for only 100 hours per year, a mark that could be exceeded today.

Yesterday, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. warned Cal-ISO that it has exhausted the entire allowance for the program in its service territory for this year. That includes most of Central and Northern California.

"Many times during this crisis, the interruptible program has made the difference between keepingthe lights on and having rotating outages," said Jeff Butler, a PG&E vice president. "Without these customers voluntarily serving as a buffer, the CAISO may have to implement the rotating block outage program much sooner if they are not able to buy enough power to meet the needs of our customers."

PG&E has about 170 interruptible customers who can be asked to take 400 megawatts of demand off the grid under a stage 2. The problem will get worse as Southern California Edison Co. nears exhaustion of its interruptible allowances. It has something like 1,500 customers representing 1,200 megawatts of interruptible load. Figures from San Diego Gas & Electricity Co. were not available this morning.

The state's power picture improved yesterday as some plants, shut down for repairs after last year's non-stop service, were put back to work. Cal-ISO said 7,600 megawatts of generation was still off line yesterday, but that was a vast improvement over last week when 10,500 megawatts was out of action.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and power, the largest municipal utility in the U.S. and unaffected by California's power woes, has been helping Cal-ISO out by selling it surplus power at market rates. Yesterday, the LADWP furnished the state with 550 megawatts and this morning said it has up to 1,000 megawatts for sale today.

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