Trump admin. extends order for MI coal power plant to remain open

• The U.S. Division of Power has ordered a coal-fired energy plant in Michigan to stay open for the fourth time, citing energy grid reliability.
• Holding the JH Campbell plant operational has resulted in a $135 million loss, with the prices handed on to clients within the Midwest.

For the fourth time, the U.S. Division of Power has issued an emergency order to maintain a coal-fired energy plant in Michigan working that can quickly be closed. A measure that critics say isn’t crucial and that can enhance prices for power payers.

The Trump administration’s Feb. 17 order extends continued operation of the JH Campbell coal-fired energy plant, operated by Customers Power, at West Olive in Ottawa County, for a further 90 days. The plant – Customers Power’s final coal-fired energy plant – can be completely closed on Might 31, 2025, as a part of the utility’s ongoing efforts to scale back carbon emissions from energy era. However the Trump administration’s first order that month, citing an power capability emergency, saved the plant open.

“Customers Power will adjust to this new federal order,” utility spokesman Brian Wheeler stated.

Customers Power reported a internet lack of $135 million by Dec. 31, 2025, in current monetary filings on account of preserving the Campbell plant open. The prices, together with gas, workers and upkeep, won’t be coated by the federal government, however will as an alternative come up from increased costs on power payments.

“According to a earlier order from the Federal Power Regulatory Fee, the prices of working the Campbell plant will likely be shared by clients all through the Midwest electrical grid – and never borne solely by Customers Power clients,” Wheeler stated.

The prices will likely be break up between the northern and central areas of the Midcontinent Unbiased System Operator, or MISO, the regional community that features Michigan and 14 different U.S. states within the Midwest, Northern Plains and Southern U.S., and the Canadian province of Manitoba. Shopper officers beforehand argued, and FERC agreed, that as a result of the Division of Power’s choice cited regional, not simply native, reliability dangers, prices ought to be shared between the North and Central MISO areas.

Within the February 17 choice, U.S. Secretary of Power Chris Wright said that “an emergency exists in parts of the Midwestern United States because of a scarcity {of electrical} power, a scarcity {of electrical} era amenities, and different causes.” Proof cited within the order features a Might 14, 2025 evaluation from the North American Electrical Reliability Corp., a nonprofit grid reliability group, whose Summer time Reliability Evaluation discovered that “demand forecasts and useful resource knowledge point out that MISO is at elevated threat of working reserve shortages during times of excessive demand or low useful resource manufacturing.”

The choice additionally cited MISO’s evaluation for the 2025-26 planning yr, which famous that “new capability additions had been inadequate to offset the destructive impacts of diminished accreditation, suspensions/retirements, and exterior assets” within the Northern and Central Zones, together with Michigan.

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However some environmental teams stated there is no such thing as a power emergency that will necessitate this tax declaration to taxpayers.

“Due to the Trump administration’s unlawful mandates, this ageing, polluting coal-fired energy plant is costing thousands and thousands of {dollars}, and Midwestern households are paying the invoice,” stated Ted Kelly, director and chief counsel for US Clear Power on the nonprofit Environmental Protection Fund.

“None of that is crucial. Utility and authorities officers have labored for years to switch the capability of this greater than half-century-old coal-fired energy plant with cheaper, cleaner power — and have ensured that these plans would offer dependable energy. It is yet one more instance of the Trump administration placing its thumb on the dimensions to maintain the coal business afloat on the expense of individuals’s well being and their hard-earned cash.”

The Trump administration has prolonged the operations of 5 coal-fired energy crops in Michigan, Indiana, Colorado and Washington past their retirement dates, citing issues concerning the reliability of power provides.

“As utility payments skyrocket, preserving the Campbell coal plant open has come at a $135 million price ticket, and households in Michigan and throughout the Midwest will see it on their utility payments,” stated Bentley Johnson, director of federal authorities affairs for the nonprofit Michigan League of Conservation Voters.

“Trump’s choice to push again on coal energy exhibits that preserving the earnings flowing for the fossil gas pursuits that supported his marketing campaign is his precedence moderately than curbing rising power prices for Michigan households.”

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Michigan Lawyer Basic Dana Nessel filed a petition for evaluate with the U.S. Court docket of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on July 24, 2025, alleging that the Might 2025 order to maintain the JH Campbell plant working was an “arbitrary and unlawful” abuse of authority. The pending lawsuit, which has been joined by quite a few states and teams, has since expanded to different actions by the Trump administration, citing the power emergency.

Contact Keith Matheny: kmatheny@freepress.com.