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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

Western Resources, PNM Break Off Merger Talks

LCG, Aug. 14, 2001--Public Service Co. of New Mexico announced that talks with Western Resources Inc. on their proposed $4.4 billion agreement have broken off, but added that the deal isn't dead and the companies will try to resolve their differences.

PNM said in a news release yesterday that the two companies "are in disagreement about the future of the transaction" but Jeff Sterba, the company's chief executive, said "PNM remains committed to the strategic benefits of bringing the two companies' electric operations together."

Western Resources issued a statement saying that PNM's "characterization" that the Kansas company had broken off the talks was wrong. "We have continually expressed our willingness to work with PNM and believe the current transaction can be completed without significant modification of the economic terms," said David Wittig, Western's chief executive.

Recent rulings by the Kansas Corporation Commission appear to be the fly in the ointment. In one ruling last month, the commission blocked Western's restructuring plan, which would have split its regulated electric utilities off from its unregulated business. Western says the restructuring is an essential part of the merger. In another ruling, the regulators denied a $151 million rate increase for the regulated utilities.

Sterba agreed that the rulings were at the heart of the problem. "We continue to believe that the merger agreement with Western, as currently structured, cannot be consummated if the KCC orders stand and the KCC's expressed concerns are not addressed by Western," he said.

Western's two utilities, Kansas Power & Light Co. and Kansas Gas & Electric Co., serve 636,000 customers in the Sunflower State. Together, they are the state's largest electric company.

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