Colstrip Plant to Continue Upgrading Pollution Control Equipment

BILLINGS, Mont., March 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Under an agreement filed this month by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, PPL Montana and the other Colstrip plant owners have committed to continue upgrading pollution control equipment at the plant in Colstrip, Mont. The companies also will fund residential energy efficiency improvements on the nearby Northern Cheyenne Reservation.

"PPL takes seriously its responsibility to provide reliable power, minimize the environmental impact of its generating facilities and support the local community," said Brad Spencer, vice president and chief operating officer of PPL Montana, which operates the plant. "Our agreement with the EPA and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe documents steps that we already had under way to take advantage of today's technology to further enhance pollution controls on the plant's Units 3 and 4, which were constructed in the 1980s."

Continuing the upgrades -- which earlier this year included installing a state-of-the-art digital control system for the plant -- PPL Montana this year will add equipment to reduce nitrogen oxides emissions on Unit 3 and in 2009 on Unit 4.

As part of the agreement, the Colstrip owners will provide a $100,000 grant to the Northern Cheyenne Tribe's Housing Improvement Program. The grant will be used for energy efficiency improvements for homes on the reservation.

The agreement settles a 2003 EPA complaint under the Clean Air Act that alleged violations of the plant's 1979 air permit. The Northern Cheyenne Tribe had filed suit as an intervener in the EPA action. The agreement also calls for the Colstrip owners to pay an administrative penalty of $50,000.

"Although we continue to believe that the plant was not in violation of the 1979 permit, we are pleased to reach an agreement that is satisfactory to all parties," Spencer said.

In addition to PPL Montana, the Colstrip plant is owned by Puget Sound Energy Inc., Portland General Electric Company, Avista Corporation, PacifiCorp and NorthWestern Energy.

PPL has 500 employees in Montana who generate and sell electricity. PPL Montana operates coal-fired power plants at Colstrip and Billings, as well as 11 hydroelectric plants along West Rosebud Creek and the Missouri, Madison, Clark Fork and Flathead rivers. It has a combined generating capacity of more than 1,200 megawatts and has offices in Billings, Butte and Helena. PPL EnergyPlus operates a trading floor in Butte that markets and sells power in the wholesale and retail energy market. PPL Montana and PPL EnergyPlus are subsidiaries of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) . More information about PPL Montana is available at http://www.pplmontana.com/.