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EPA Announces Proposed Rule Action to Revise ELG's and Support Reliable, Affordable Coal-fired Power Plants

LCG, May 14, 2026--The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that it is proposing a rule to revise wastewater limits, known as effluent limitations guidelines (ELG), for steam electric power plants that will help improve grid reliability and lower electricity prices while continuing to support clean and safe water resources. If finalized, the EPA's proposal is estimated to reduce electricity generation costs by as much as $1.1 billion annually, which could provide cost-savings to American consumers.

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DOE Awards $94 Million to Eight American Companies to Accelerate SMR Deployments and Develop Supply Chain

LCG, May 14, 2026--The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the selection of eight companies to support the near-term deployment of advanced light-water small modular reactors (SMRs) in the United States. The DOE states that awardees will collectively receive more than $94 million in Federal cost-shared funding to spur additional Gen III+ SMR deployments by addressing key gaps that have hindered the domestic nuclear industry in licensing, supply chain, and site preparation.

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Industry News

PG&E to Pay 131 QFs $740 Million

LCG, July 20, 2001Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said yesterday it has signed five-year agreements with 131 of its qualifying facilities, ensuring the utility and its customers receive a reliable supply of electricity at an average energy price of 5.37 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Qualifying facilities, often referred to as "environmentally friendly" plants, are in fact ordinary power plants developed in response to the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 which was enacted in the wake of the Arab oil embargo in the early 1970s, with the objective of diversifying energy resources in the U.S. QFs are typically smaller than utility baseload generating stations and are often cogenerators, supplying thermal as well as electric energy.

PG&E, forced into bankruptcy court by California's failed electric deregulation scheme, said it will pay the pre-petition debt on these 131 QF contracts, a total of $740 million, on the effective date of the plan of reorganization. The total amount the company owed to all QFs when it filed for Chapter 11 was about $1 billion.

"We are pleased to have reached agreements with more than 130 of our small power producers,"said Joe Henri, director of electric portfolio management. "This will help bring stability to the market and allow our customers to receive reliable power at reasonable costs."

The 131 QF contracts represent nameplate capacity of 2,950 megawatts compared to PG&E's total QF contract nameplate capacity of 4,400 megawatts. On an average annual basis, the companyreceives approximately 2,400 megawatts from all of its QFs, and the 131 QFs represent around 1,600 megawatts of the total amount.

Each of the agreements requires formal approval from the U.S Bankruptcy Court. Some QF contracts have already been approved by the bankruptcy court, including one with Calpine Corp. Calpine was owed $267 million for power from qualifying facilities it owns that have a capacity of around 630 megawatts.

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