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DOE Acts to Ensure Key Coal-fired Power Plants Are Available in MISO to Supply Peak Summer Demands

LCG, May 18, 2026--The U.S. Secretary of Energy today issued an emergency order to address critical grid reliability issues in the Midwest anticipated this summer. The order is in effect beginning on May 19, 2026, through August 16, 2026. The emergency order directs the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), in coordination with Consumers Energy, to ensure that the J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant (Campbell Plant) in West Olive, Michigan shall take all steps necessary to remain available to operate and to minimize costs for the region.

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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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Industry News

Britain's Ofgem Says Power Firms Have 'Rigged Market'

LCG, Aug. 13, 2001--The head of Britain's Office of Gas and Electricity Markets has warned that power companies have deliberately manipulated Neta, the new electricity trading market, to keepwholesale prices high, The Independent, an English newspaper, reported yesterday.

Ofgem chief executive Callum McCarthy said that since the new energy trading arrangements were set up in March, he suspected that companies had knowingly abused the market. "There have been some instances where prices have unusually changed, which looks very hard to justify in normal market conditions," he said.

McCarthy's complaint could be a ploy to gain additional clout for his agency. His comments come as the Department of Trade & Industry is due to decide whether to give Ofgem full powers to investigate such abuses, the paper noted.

McCarthy said that price fixing is more difficult under the new trading arrangements that it was under the previous power pool, but he believes companies still withhold generating capacity to influence prices. Without the new powers he is seeking, "the market will be more open to manipulation, and quite simply electricity prices will be higher. Ofgem has an obligation to protect the interests of consumers," he said.

Ofgem previously had included in its business licenses a "good behavior" clause under which companies could be put out of business for suspected abuse of market power. When British Energy Plc and AES Corp. of the U.S. refused to sign such contracts, the matter went to the British Competition Commission, which ruled last year there was no need for the clauses.

McCarthy has been pushing to have the clauses restored, in one form or another, ever since.

The Electricity Association, a trade organization in the UK, said in a letter to the Department of Trade & Industry that it was "strongly opposed" to Ofgem's proposals and that new abuse clauseswould deter new generators from entering the market.

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