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News
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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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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
'Erin Brokovitch' Shows Up in PG&E Bankruptcy
LCG, Jan. 8, 2002--U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Dennis Montali, who is in charge of the Chapter 11 case of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. in San Francisco, is expected to rule, perhaps this week, in which court some personal injury 1,250 claims related to the 'Erin Brokovich' case should be heard.PG&E lawyers say bankruptcy law requires that personal injury and wrongful death claims be moved to a U.S. district court, "ensuring that the claims are dealt with uniformly and as expeditiously as possible," but plaintiff lawyers say that a shift in venue would unfairly delay a decision. Montali will decide if the claims should be transferred to a U.S. district court in San Francisco, as sought by PG&E, or heard in state court in Los Angeles.The 1,250 claims are contained in 15 class action lawsuits on behalf of people seeking $500 million for alleged personal injuries involving chromium-contaminated drinking water near the utility's natural gas pumping stations at Kettleman and Topock, Calif., west of Bakersfield.PG&E admits that it used chromium in the cooling systems of the substation and that some of it may have leached out of settling ponds into the aquifer, but denies that it caused any health problems. The company quit using the element in 1966 and in the early 1980s bought up about 12 houses in the area and began treating the ground water to remove the chromium. No one needed to tell the utility to do so. Enter Erin Brokovich, an attractive (in a trailer park sort of way) novice legal secretary who was researching some real estate documents for her boss. She stumbled on the then-old chromium story and convinced her boss to breathe new life into it.The case went to arbitration before a panel of retired judges who awarded the first batch of 39 plaintiffs $121 million. PG&E said the judges were persuaded by "junk science."By 1996, PG&E was on the ropes and a major movie was in the making. The utility agreed on July 2 of that year to settle the suits for $333 million without admitting wrongdoing."We have not had before anything we would consider a significant environmental lawsuit," said then general counsel for PG&E, Robert Borden.
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UPLAN-NPM
The Locational Marginal Price Model (LMP) Network Power Model
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UPLAN-ACE
Day Ahead and Real Time Market Simulation
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UPLAN-G
The Gas Procurement and Competitive Analysis System
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PLATO
Database of Plants, Loads, Assets, Transmission...
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