EnergyOnline
Services

RSS FEED

EnergyOnline.com rss

News

Oklo and Siemens Energy Sign Agreement to Accelerate Power Conversion System for New SMR in Idaho

LCG, November 19, 2025--Oklo Inc. and Siemens Energy announced today that the parties have signed a binding contract for the design and delivery of the power conversion system for Oklo’s Aurora-INL (Idaho National Laboratory) nuclear small modular reactor (SMR). The agreement authorizes Siemens Energy to begin engineering and design work to expedite procurement of long-lead components and to initiate the manufacturing process for the power conversion system. Oklo’s expertise in advanced fission technology will be combined with Siemens Energy’s extensive industry experience with steam turbine and generator systems, with the ultimate goal of generating carbon-free, reliable electricity.

Read more

NERC's New Winter Reliability Assessment Raises Concerns for Elevated Risk of Insufficient Supplies to Meet Demand in Extreme Operating Conditions

LCG, November 19, 2025--NERC yesterday released its 2025–2026 Winter Reliability Assessment (WRA), which concludes "much of North America is again at an elevated risk of having insufficient energy supplies to meet demand in extreme operating conditions." The WRA does state that resources are adequate for normal winter peak demand, but extended, wide-area cold snaps will be challenging.

Read more

Industry News

Cal Power Authority may be Losing

LCG, Nov. 28, 2001--The California Power Authority, created earlier this year to build, own and operate new power plants as insurance against electricity outages, now says it probably won't need those power plants.

The new agency, headed by S. David Freeman, has halted negotiations to build by next summer 31 proposed projects with a combined capacity of 3,200 megawatts.

"It's looking less and less likely that these projects will be needed by next summer," said Amber Pasricha, a power authority spokeswoman.

On November 20, the California Energy Commission issued its 2002 Monthly Electricity Forecast which predicted that the state next summer will have a supply surplus of approximately 340 megawatts including new generation of 4,000 megawatts expected on line by July 2002.

A forced outage at any baseload power plant could plunge the state into another electricity deficit, resulting in rolling blackouts. A surplus of 340 megawatts in the control area of the California Independent System Operator represents a "cushion" of less than 1 percent, while most power professionals consider a reserve of 15 percent to be prudent.

Much of the state's power supply for next year and for up to 20 more years is in the form of long-term contracts negotiated by the California Department of Water Resources at an average cost of $69 per megawatt-hour -- more than twice today's going price.

Consumer advocates and state regulators want to see those contracts renegotiated, but the power producers are loath to accommodate them.

Now, Freeman sees a way to put the $5 billion funding for his agency to good use, if it isn't going to build power plants. He said the power authority could use its money to provide low-cost financing to companies already doing business with the state as an incentive for the companies to renegotiate their contracts.

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