Financial and Regulatory Aspects of Converting Oil-Fired Utility Boilers to Coal

To encourage utilities to convert their oil fired boilers to coal and to overcome their financial difficulties in the process, the President has proposed "oil backout" legislation which would provide the utilities with Federal grants. GAO was asked to: (1) explain the reasons for inconsistency among the various lists of powerplants which could be converted from oil to coal; (2) determine if reconversion and the proposed Federal grant program would overcome such problems; and (3) review the Anheuser Busch Company's experience in obtaining an exemption from the Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act to determine if the experience indicates any regulatory problems.