New EPA Pollution Standards Have Expense

It may eventually cost Big Rivers Electric Corp. an estimated $100 million to install equipment to capture mercury and other toxic emissions to meet new pollution standards announced Wednesday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, utility officials said Thursday. But that's not all. "The real impact will be on the O&M" — operations and maintenance — "side of the business," according to Bill Blackburn, Big Rivers' senior vice president of finance and energy services as well as its chief financial officer.