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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

Texas Dereg Test Gets off to Very Slow Start

LCG, Aug. 7, 2001--Texas regulators are considering delaying electric deregulation in a 60-county portion of the state near Arkansas and Louisiana because of lack of competition in the region, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported this morning.

If the Public Utility Commission of Texas removes the 430,000 residential customers in the East Texas area from the deregulation law, it would be in addition to some 400,000 in the Panhandle, El Paso and other areas already exempted by the legislature.

"It's as if they gave a party and no one came," Randy Chapman, executive director of the TexasLegal Services Center that represents the interests of low-income ratepayers, told the paper. "Competition is just crumbling. ... I think it really opens the issue of whether or not electric competition in Texas can work."

On August 1, Texas began a pilot program to get its utilities ready for full deregulation which is scheduled to begin next January 1. Under the test, 5 percent of each utility's customers are eligible to begin getting electric service from a competitive supplier.

That means that about 22,000 customers in East Texas are eligible, but so far not a single retail customer has asked for alternative service.

"We're concerned that the level of participation in the [test] project is nonexistent," PUCT legal division director Tom Hunter explained to the three-member commission.

Speaking to the Star-Telegram, Hunter said "We have filed a petition to ask the commission to look at these areas and to decide whether ... to go forward. We're not talking about a delay forever, but some finite period of time. We're just setting the ball in motion. The commission must decide what to do."

So far, fewer than 4 percent of residential customers have signed up with a competitive electric provider in the Houston service area of Reliant Energy Inc., and a little more than 1 percent signed up for such service in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex area served by TXU-Texas Utilities Co. Elsewhere in the state, participation remains well below 1 percent.

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