Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is pleased that a federal appeals court in Washington has put a new environmental regulation for power plants on hold.

Schmidt said Friday the new rule threatened the state’s supply of electricity. Kansas relies heavily on coal-fired power plants for its electricity, and the rules would have forced cuts in pollution from such plants in an effort to keep the air downwind cleaner.

Kansas was among six states asking the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington to block the rule until legal challenges to it are resolved. The court granted the request.

Kansas also contends that the EPA is overestimating the state’s contribution to downwind pollution. Schmidt says the rule would force costly changes at power plants, raising electric rates.