CUB fights Trump order to continue operating retiring coal plant 

CUB previously wrote about a Trump Administration “energy emergency” order requiring a Michigan utility to suddenly continue operating a coal plant that had long been scheduled to retire. It cost $80 million to keep that plant operating in just the first four months after the order was issued, and it is providing no benefits to the power grid that justify that expense. Last month, CUB joined other consumer advocates across the Midwest to file an amicus brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for Washington D.C. recommending the order be vacated. This article provides an update on this issue and summarizes the arguments forwarded through the brief. 

What's happened so far? 

On May 23, President Trump’s Department of Energy (DOE) issued an emergency order directing Michigan utility, Consumers Energy, to continue operating the J.H. Campbell Power Plant, a coal-fired electric generation facility in West Olive, Michigan. The Campbell plant was originally scheduled to close on May 31, 2025—one week after the DOE order was issued. (The Trump Administration has since issued similar orders requiring the continued operation of retiring coal plants in Indiana, Colorado, and Washington.) 

The order states, without clear evidentiary support, that “an emergency exists in portions of the Midwest region of the United States due to a shortage of electric energy, a shortage of facilities for the generation of electricity, and other causes.” However, utilities, state regulators, and regional grid operators are continuously planning to ensure enough electricity is generated and transmitted to meet growing demand. After a lengthy regulatory process involving 29 parties, Michigan’s utility commission approved the retirement of the Campbell plant in June 2022. Meanwhile, the Michigan commission also approved Consumers Energy’s plans to invest in other infrastructure to replace the Campbell Plant—infrastructure that can generate electricity more cleanly and cost-effectively than an aging coal facility. This means that keeping the Campbell plant operational merely adds enormous costs without benefit.  

After the DOE order, Consumers Energy became concerned about whether and how it could recover the costs of operating the plant. Typically, the costs of owning and operating utility infrastructure can only be recovered from a regulated utility’s customers if the facility is "used and useful”—and if the costs are reasonably incurred; otherwise, a utility company may be forced to eat the costs. Because Michigan regulators had already determined the plant was not needed and could be retired, Consumers Energy worried they would not be permitted to charge its customers for the unexpected continued operation of that facility. In an attempt to address this, Consumers Energy filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) requesting permission to socialize the costs of operating the Campbell Plant across the entire MISO footprint, including Minnesota. CUB joined consumer advocates across the Midwest in opposing that request, but FERC approved the request in August 2025.  

Who is affected? 

Minnesotans are affected in two ways. First, Minnesotans are being forced to help pay for a coal plant in Michigan whose continued operation is not needed, further exacerbating a growing energy affordability problem.  

Second, several Minnesota utilities are in the process of retiring aging coal plants in Minnesota, informed by many years of ongoing scrutiny, review, and rigorous debate by numerous local parties appearing before the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC). The electric system is carefully regulated at the state level and overseen by the regional grid manager, MISO. The closure of any power plant is the result of years of public review and sign-off by multiple agencies. For the federal government to step in to reverse such a decision— especially at the last minute— usurps state regulatory authority, results in duplicative facilities being constructed and maintained, and will increase customer’s energy bills. 

If the DOE orders Minnesota coal plants to continue operating beyond their scheduled retirement date, Minnesota utilities will likely seek to recover the costs of such operation from their customers—along with the costs of building and operating new resources long-planned to replace the retiring coal plants.  

How are CUB and other consumer advocates pushing back? 

CUB Minnesota joined the Citizens Utility Boards of Michigan and Wisconsin (each of which are independent organizations), Consumers Council of Missouri, and Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana to file an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. recommending that the DOE Order be vacated. 

We argue that the DOE has not proven that an emergency exists that would require the Campbell Plant to continue operating, and that the DOE failed to consider the financial impact its Order will have on ratepayers affected by it. Some details we highlight in the brief include: 

• Complying with the DOE Order has forced Consumers Energy to incur roughly $615,000 per day to keep the Campbell Plant running.
• FERC has authorized Consumers Energy to seek ratepayer recovery of costs associated with the order, including the approximate $80 million in total costs incurred between May 23, 2025 (the date of the order) through September 30, 2025.
• By upending the state regulatory framework devoted to local utility decision-making, the order also harms the interests of consumer advocates and members of the public that actively participate in utility regulatory proceedings. 

How can you get involved?  

There is currently not an opportunity to file public comments on this matter — but you can help by spreading the word about this frustrating development. Please share this article and/or the amicus brief with your network, and keep an eye on our website and newsletter for additional updates.