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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

Old Alaska Gas Pipeline Plan May Get New Life

LCG, Nov. 19, 2001--A 25-year-old plan to build a natural gas pipeline to carry Alaskan North Slope gas to the lower 48 took on new life last week when nine energy companies announced they have agreed to come together to settle a financial problem and pitch a business plan to North Slope natural gas owners, the Anchorage Daily News reported Friday.

The companies or their predecessors were in a partnership that in 1977 won rights to build a pipeline along the highway to bring North Slope gas to market. The companies, led by Foothills, invested hundreds of millions but dropped out when gas prices fell in the 1980s, leaving only developer Foothills Pipe Lines and its two Canadian owners, TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. and Westcoast Energy Inc.

The prospect that the companies that had bowed out of the deal might want their money back -- with interest, it has grown to $4 billion and is referred to as the "meatball" -- has deterred meaningful progress on the pipeline.

Dennis McConaghy, an executive of Foothills who announced last week's agreement, said the companies are committed to removing all barriers to the project, which would follow the Alaska Highway.

Thursday's memorandum of understanding among The Williams Cos., Duke Energy Corp., Sempra Energy International Inc., Enron Corp., PG&E Corp., El Paso Corp., Westcoast Energy and TransCanada does not resolve the liability issue, but it provides a framework to settle the claims and re-form the Foothills partnership if the companies choose.

"Let me put it this way," McConaghy said. "We're prepared to take the $4 billion number off the table as part of a commercial settlement with the producers if that's what it takes."

In the meantime, the agreement allows the companies to jointly develop a business proposal and present it to the gas producers early next year, he added.

The biggest hurdle facing the pipeline is cost. The owners of the North Slope concessions -- BP, Exxon Mobil and Phillips -- doubt that the pipeline can be built cheaply enough to allow the gas that comes out the lower end to be sold competitively.

John Shively, an advisor to Foothills, thinks it can be done. "We are a group of gas transportation companies. Some savings can be achieved. This is what we do," he said.

And the producers at the north Slope aren't entirely [pessimistic. "Our goal is to create and identify an economic project," spokesman Dave MacDowell said. "If this can get us there, we're delighted."

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