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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

Relicensing Sought for North Anna, Surry Nukes

LCG, May 31, 2001--Dominion Resources Inc. said yesterday it had filed an application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to renew the operating licenses of its two Virginia nuclear power plants for an additional 20 years.

If approved as expected, the license extensions would permit the two 900 megawatt reactors at the North Anna plant near Richmond to operate until 2038 and 2040. The two 800 megawatt reactors at the Surry nuclear power plant near Newport News would be authorized to operate until 2031 and 2033.

The 103 commercial reactors operating in the U.S. were originally granted 40-year operating licenses by the NRC, but an industry-wide improvement in its "nuclear safety culture" and stringent operating and maintenance oversight by the federal agency have most, if not all, running better than ever.

The NRC has set up guidelines for nuclear operators seeking to renew licenses, requiring operators to show a 20-year operating history and to demonstrate that continued operation would not endanger public health or safety or harm the environment.

Because of the low cost of uranium fuel, the nation's nuclear power plants were able to produce power for 1.83 cents per kilowatt-hour in 1999, the most recent year for which figures are available. That is lower than the cost of producing power from coal, and to top it off, nuclear plants now typically operate at around 90 percent of capacity, day in and day out, and even skeptics are coming to realize they do so without emitting any pollutants.

Because of these considerations, industry observers expect operators of nearly all 103 reactors to apply for license extensions.

"It's a pretty high number that we're looking at and that's a good reason to get in line early," saidDominion Resources spokesman Jim Norvelle. He said it would take about two years for the NRC to approve the applications.

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