NWPPA Morning Brief — Thursday, May 28, 2026

In today's brief:

Top Federal Developments

• NRC Commissioners Testify on $892.3 Million FY2027 Budget and Advanced Reactor Licensing — https://www.ans.org/news/article-7973/nrc-commissioners-testify-before-us-house-subcommittee/
• DOE Opens Door to Surplus Weapons Plutonium as Commercial Reactor Fuel — https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5896154-energy-department-plutonium-nuclear-power/
• FERC Proposes to Double Cost Thresholds in Pipeline Blanket Certificate Overhaul — https://naturalgasintel.com/news/ferc-overhauls-natural-gas-pipeline-permitting-as-demand-strains-capacity/

Top Regional / State Developments

• Oregon PUC Rejects PacifiCorp's Interim 2.8% Rate Increase — https://ktvz.com/news/2026/05/27/pacificorps-interim-rate-hike-request-rejected-by-oregon-regulators/
• Duke Energy Wins South Carolina Approval for Battery Storage Demand Response Program — https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/ueberblick/duke-energy-stock-us26441c2044-new-south-carolina-storage-program/69430870

AI and Large Load Demand Radar

• NERC Cuts ERCOT Summer Demand Forecast by 3.7 GW on Data Center Curtailability — https://www.utilitydive.com/news/demand-management-data-center-flexibility-boost-regional-reliability-nerc/821225/
• Tech Industry Engages FERC Ahead of June Large-Load Interconnection Proposal — https://www.eenews.net/articles/how-big-tech-learned-to-speak-ferc/

Western Market Structure Signal

• Dominion-NextEra Merger Draws Affordability Scrutiny from Virginia Lawmakers — https://www.arlnow.com/2026/05/27/dominion-energys-merger-plan-sharpens-affordability-questions-for-n-va-lawmakers/

Advocacy and Legal Signal Scan

• Powder River Energy Cooperative Files 2025 Wildfire Mitigation Plan with Wyoming PSC — https://newslj.com/public-notice-powder-river-energy-corporation

Pilot notice: AI-generated daily briefing. Verify before acting on it.

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