Dive Brief:

• The Environmental Protection Agency approved a plan that calls for Public Service Co. of Oklahoma (PSO) to retire its two coal-fired units in Oklahoma.
• Under the approved plan, PSO, an American Electric Power utility, will retire one of the Northeastern Station's 465-MW units in 2016. It will install pollution controls on the plant's second unit, and then shut it down in 2026.
• The plan is part of an effort to cut pollution that causes haze in national parks and wildlife areas.

Dive Insight:

Recently, the Clean Air Act's regional haze rules has triggered a wave of coal-fired unit shutdowns and planned shutdowns in New Mexico and Arizona. In Oklahoma, PSO is replacing the lost coal-fired capacity with natural gas-fired generation and wind power.