Hoosier Energy agrees to settlement
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - Hoosier Energy Rural Electric Cooperative has agreed to spend up to $100 million to improve pollution controls at two of its Indiana power plants to settle alleged Clean Air Act violations.
The agreement filed in federal court in Indianapolis also requires Bloomington-based Hoosier Energy to pay a $950,000 civil penalty and spend $5 million on environmental projects.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency alleged in 2008 that Hoosier Energy violated the Clean Air Act by modifying its Merom power plant in west-central Indiana without first obtaining needed permits.
Hoosier Energy says it will spend between $50 million and $100 million to add air emission controls at the Merom plant and the Frank E. Ratts power plant near Petersburg. The upgrades will cut the plantsÂ’ annual emissions about 24,500 tons.
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U.S. power demand seen sliding 1% in 2023 on milder weather
WASHINGTON - U.S. power consumption is expected to slip about 1% in 2023 from the previous year as milder weather slows usage from the record high hit in 2022, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO).
EIA projected that electricity demand is on track to slide to 4,000 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2023 from a historic high of 4,048 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2022, before rising to 4,062 billion kWh in 2024 as economic growth ramps up.
Less demand coupled with more electricity generation from cheap renewable power sources and lower natural gas prices is forecast…
