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PUC of Texas Approves Entergy Texas' Plans to Build Over 1,200 MW of Gas-Fired Capacity

LCG, September 12, 2025--Entergy announced yesterday that the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) approved Entergy Texas’ proposal to build two efficient natural gas-fired power plants to support the region’s rapid growth. The combined electric generating capacity of the two facilities, the Legend Power Station and the Lone Star Power Station, will add over 1,200 MW to the Southeast Texas power grid to support new customer demand, increase reliability and lower costs for all customers. Both facilities are scheduled to commence operations by mid-2028.

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Puget Sound Energy Starts Construction on 142-MW Appaloosa Solar Project in Washington

LCG, September 4, 2025--Puget Sound Energy (PSE) announced yesterday that phased construction has commenced on its 142-MW Appaloosa Solar Project, a utility-scale solar facility underway in southeastern Washington. The project is being built by Qcells EPC, who will serve as the module manufacturer and the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) solution provider. Construction is scheduled through 2026, and commercial operation is expected at the end of next year.

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Industry News

Transcripts Suggest Top Enron Execs Knew of Market Manipulation

LCG, May 18, 2004--A former executive at Enron Corp. for regulatory affairs spoke with an energy trader in a way suggesting that Enron's chief executive Jeffrey Skilling and chairman Kenneth Lay were informed of manipulative power trading strategies involving purchases by California buyers, according to a transcript obtained by the Justice Department.

The routine transcript shows that the director of California regulatory affairs, Susan Mara, asked a trader during Sept. 14, 2000, "Do you know when you started overscheduling load and making buckets of money on that?" A trader involved in overscheduling could have made it appear that no more power could flow on a transmission line into California, creating the illusion that power shortages existed. The transcript, which was released by a municipal utility in Washington state, also quotes Mara as saying, "This is the time of year when government affairs has to prove how valuable it is to Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling."

The former chief of West Coast power trading, Timothy Belden, is found in another transcript saying of a power trader, "Well he makes... between one and two [million] a day, which never shows up on any curve shift... He steals money from California to the tune of about a million -". A request by another speaker to Belden to modify what has been said leads Belden to articulate, "He, um, he arbitrages the California market to the tune of a million bucks or two a day."

Belden has pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges, and is aiding federal authorities in their investigation. Belden's attorney told the Los Angeles Times that the meaning of the conversation in the transcript could not be gleaned without knowledge of the rest of the exchange.
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