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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

Montana Power Asks for Gas, Power Rate Hikes

LCG, Aug. 14, 2000--Montana Power Co. on Friday asked state regulators for permission to increase "wires" charges to its residential electricity customers by 12 percent and "pipes" charges to its core natural gas customers by 9 percent.

The utility told the Montana Public Service Commission that the increases were required to cover costs associated with inflationary increases in operating costs, increased property and energy taxes and plant additions and upgrades. It also said it wanted to earn higher returns on equity which would make it easier to compete for investment dollars among peer companies with similar risks.

The electric distribution increase would amount to 21.2 percent for those customers who have switched to alternative power suppliers, the company said, and the gas distribution increase would be 14.3 percent for non-core gas transportation customers.

The company noted that delivery charges make up about half of its electricity customers total bills and about two-thirds of natural gas bills.For the typical residential electric customer using 750 kilowatt-hours a month, the proposal meansmonthly bills, on average, will go from $47.62 to $53.38, for an increase of about $5.76 a month or $69.12 a year. The actual impact will be higher in the winter and lower in the summer, the company said.

For a typical residential natural gas customer using 10 dekatherms a month, average monthlybills will increase from $58.21 a month to $63.27, an increase of $5.06. Again, the hike will hurt more in the winter, less in the summer.

Jack Haffey, executive vice president in charge of Montana Powers energy services division, said of the request, "It represents a four-year catch-up filing for the electric utility as rates have been frozen for two years and only modest increases were allowed two years prior to that. Meanwhile, for the gas utility, it represents a further step in the process of determining what it actually costs to provide delivery-only services to customers."

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