PacifiCorp, a unit of MidAmerican Energy Holdings, said upgrading its coal fleet in order to comply with future federal and state environmental requirements may cost $1 billion.

The company said April 13 that it was looking into possibly switching its 330 MW Unit 3 at the Naughton coal-fired power plant in Wyoming to burn natural gas to comply with regulations.

According to Reuters, the unit must comply with emission control requirements by the end of 2014. PacifiCorp filed testimony with state regulators on April 9 explaining its analysis that supports converting the unit to natural gas instead of installing emission controls, the article said.

PacifiCorp is conducting a separate analysis to identify compliance options for EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) at the 172 MW Carbon coal-fired power plant in Utah, the article said. So far, the report said the lowest cost option for the plant is to decommission it, but the company continues to evaluate its options, according to the article.

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