Secretary of Energy: J.H. Campbell Plant must stay open this summer
PORT SHELDON TWP. — With single digits left before the scheduled closure of the J.H. Campbell Power Plant in Ottawa County, the U.S. Department of Energy has issued an emergency order requiring Consumers Energy to keep the plant "available for operation."
In a brief statement to the media, Consumers Director of Media Relations Katie Carey described the order as a 90-day pause, and said the utility intends to comply.
"We are reviewing the executive action and the overall impact on our company," she added.
The order, issued Friday, May 23, cited a need to "minimize the risk of blackouts and address critical grid security issues" in the Midwest ahead of "the high electricity demand expected this summer." The order was directed to the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, the grid on which the plant operates.
The Campbell Plant was scheduled to close May 31.
An effort to "Save the Campbell" in Ottawa County has been underway since Consumers announced the facility in Port Sheldon Township was slated for an early 2025 retirement in 2021. Initially, at least one portion of the plant was meant to stay online until 2040.
'It's voluntary for the Campbell Plant to be closing (this) early,' Ottawa County Commissioner Allison Miedema said in February. 'That was a voluntary decision. This wasn't a mandate that was put on them.'
More: 'The county has done enough': Commissioners nix possible legal action over Campbell Plant
The decision was spurred by Consumers' Clean Energy Plan, which calls for eliminating coal as an energy source in 2025. The plan was released in the wake of state law requiring Michigan to produce all of its energy from clean sources by 2040.
The Campbell Plant began operations in 1962, generating nearly 1,500 megawatts of electricity on a 2,000-acre property. The plant's closure would've marked the end of Consumers' electricity generation from coal.
Retirement and restoration of the property was expected to begin later this year and last until 2030. Work includes the removal of coal residuals, backfilling the cold pile with clean fill, ash remediation with Ashcor, removal of a warm water discharge pipe and relocation of multiple bird boxes. It wasn't immediately clear how that timeline will be affected by the order, or what pre-shutdown activities may already have taken place.
MISO is responsible for power across 15 states and one Canadian Province. In 2024, 26% of the authority's energy came from coal.
More: Consumers has the final say about retiring Campbell, but Ottawa County is worried
According to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, MISO is listed as "high risk," meaning shortfalls to the energy supply can occur at normal peak conditions. That's the worst ranking on NERC's Risk Area Summary for 2025-2029 — and MISO is the only grid that's earned it.
'The only way the lights can come on is if there's enough power into the grid serving our area collectively,' said Ottawa County Commissioner Josh Brugger. '... I don't like coal. I think there ... are other options, green energy, natural gas — but at the same time, we've got business, we've got industry, we've got residents all throughout the grid that need that power.'
Commissioners passed a resolution Feb. 25, making a 'formal appeal' to the MPSC to reconsider shutdown plans for the Campbell Plant; but officials said the decision was already made. The board voted against taking legal action at Miedema's insistence in April, and noted the previous resolution had been shared with the federal government, which some officials hoped would spur action.
"Today's emergency order ensures that Michiganders and the greater Midwest region do not lose critical power generation capability as summer begins and electricity demand regularly (reaches) high levels," wrote Energy Secretary Chris Wright in a statement announcing the order.
"This administration will not sit back and allow dangerous energy subtraction policies threaten the resiliency of our grid and raise electricity prices on American families."
The order, issued by the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, was delivered in accordance with President Donald Trump's Executive Order: Declaring a National Energy Emergency. It will ensure power generation availability in the region doesn't dip below 2024 capacity levels, according to the government's statement.
— Cassandra Lybrink is the local editor of The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at clybrink@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @CassLybrink.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Department of Energy pauses Campbell Plant closure with only days left
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