Michigan order signals next stage of Energy Department's coal support
The Energy Department's order to keep a Michigan coal plant running this summer is short in duration but could signal bigger battles to come.
State of play: Secretary Chris Wright on Friday demanded that Midwest grid operators and utility Consumers Energy keep the J.H. Campbell plant online until at least Aug. 21.
It had been slated to retire May 31. Wright's order using emergency authorities cites "insufficiency of dispatchable capacity and anticipated demand during the summer months."
Wright's separate statement says it ensures regional residents "do not lose critical power generation capability as summer begins" and demand gets high.
The other side: Michigan's top utility regulator called it unnecessary given the state's "robust" planning and excess production, and said it will raise costs.
"There is no existing energy emergency in either Michigan or MISO," said Dan Scripps, chair of the Michigan Public Service Commission.
Public Citizen's Tyson Slocum said he's unaware of these Federal Power Act emergency authorities — specifically Section 202(c) — being used to extend the life of a soon-to-retire plant.
"Neither MISO nor Consumers [Energy] initiated the request. This is Trump abusing emergency authorities to play politics," Slocum, head of the advocacy group's energy program, said via email.
What we're watching: Other Trump 2.0 moves to slow coal's ongoing decline in the U.S. power mix.
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