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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

Senate Panel Finds FERC Lacking

LCG, November 12, 2002-A Senate panel has determined that the FERC neglected to act on information about Enron and has too few personnel attending to the regulation of industry.

In a report released today, the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee found that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should have noticed Enron's irregular behavior as long as five years ago. In the report, Senators pointed to wind farm transactions in 1997 where assets were transferred to secret Enron partnerships instead of companies separate from Enron as promised.

A higher rate on power is allowed to be charged for qualifying facilities such as wind generators; Enron's acquisition of three California wind projects mandated either Enron's sale of the wind assets or a non-special rate on those generators. Enron's secret ownership tacked on an additional and illegal $176 million in collections from the wind farms.

FERC had begun investigating the secret partnerships only last month.

According to the report, "On a number of occasions, FERC was provided with sufficient information to raise suspicions of improper activities -- or had itself identified potential problems -- in areas where it had regulatory responsibilities over Enron, but failed to understand the significance of the information of its implications."

The Senate Committee also noted that FERC had too few staff involved with market oversight and that too small of a percentage of FERC's employees are involved in preventing market abuse.

FERC has already countered that, with only 1,250 employees, 800 of which are involved in safety and licensing, 200 of the remaining 450 are working in oversight and enforcement. The Federal agency has also taken issue with the Senate Committee's criticism of FERC's investigation, saying more skilled investigators have been hired.

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