Court Finds Michigan Coal Emergency Lacked An Emergency

WASHINGTON—A federal appeals court has vacated the Energy Department’s order keeping Michigan’s J.H. Campbell coal plant open, ruling that the government’s emergency power requires an emergency rather than a scheduled retirement the government would prefer to cancel.

Consumers Energy planned to close the 64-year-old plant in May 2025. Energy Secretary Chris Wright used Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act to require continued operation, saying the 1,420-megawatt facility was necessary to protect reliability in the Midwest. The department later extended the arrangement through additional 90-day orders.

Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota and environmental groups challenged the original directive. A unanimous D.C. Circuit panel said Section 202(c) is a narrow, last-resort mechanism for conditions demanding immediate action by the department, not a general tool for reversing a utility’s long-planned resource decision.

The Energy Department said the plant had operated during periods of high demand and low intermittent generation and pointed to rising electricity needs. The court concluded that those concerns did not demonstrate the specific statutory emergency needed for federal intervention over the states and grid operators responsible for resource planning.

The ruling addresses the legal basis for the original Campbell order while other federal directives have kept several retiring power plants available. The administration may continue supporting coal generation. It must first place the emergency inside the emergency provision.