Department of Energy Blocks Shutdown of Coal-Fired Power Plant and Oil- and Gas-Fired Generator Units With Federal Emergency Orders

On May 23, 2025 and May 30, 2025, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued two emergency orders under its Federal Power Act (FPA) Section 202(c) authority effectively delaying the closure of two power plants. DOE Order No. 202-25-3 (hereinafter, the Campbell Order) requires the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) and Consumers Energy to “take all measures necessary” to ensure that the 1,560 MW coal-fired J.H. Campbell Power Plant (Campbell Plant) in West Olive, Michigan — originally slated for retirement on May 31, 2025 — is “available to operate” until the expiration of the order on August 21, 2025. DOE Order No. 202-25-4 (hereinafter, the Eddystone Order) similarly requires PJM Interconnection (PJM) and Constellation Energy to keep 760 MW of oil- and gas-fired peaking capacity — also set to retire on May 31, 2025 — at the Eddystone Generation Station (Eddystone Station) in Pennsylvania available until August 28, 2025. There is also the potential of extensions of these expiration dates.

The Campbell Plant was set to retire on June 1, 2025, in line with a settlement agreement reached amongst Consumers Energy and various intervening parties (including the Michigan Attorney General and various customer, environmental, and energy industry representatives) in Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) proceedings on the utility’s 2021 Integrated Resource Planning process.[1] The Campbell Order is based on a projected shortage of electricity and generation facilities in the Midwest during the summer of 2025, relying on risk levels outlined in the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) 2025 Summer Reliability Assessment and MISO’s capacity auction results released in late April.[2]

Upon Constellation Energy’s request, in February 2024, PJM approved for retirement the two oil- and gas-fired generator units at the Eddystone Station, finding no “reliability violations” would result. However, the Eddystone Order is based in part on a PJM report from May 9, 2025 — stating it may have to call on demand response this summer under extreme demand — and ongoing communications between PJM and various federal agencies since 2023 regarding potential reliability concerns.[3]

Several key aspects make the issuance of these Section 202(c) orders unprecedented and unique. First, unlike other Section 202(c) orders, the Campbell Order was issued by the DOE on its own initiative — not in response to a power plant owner, transmission provider, or grid operator application. News reports quoted Dan Scripps, chair of the MPSC, as saying about the Campbell Order: “It came as a surprise to everybody, and it was baffling why they chose this plant. Nobody asked for this order. The power grid operator did not. The utility that owns the plant did not. The state regulator did not.”[4] Second, the orders represent a rare instance where the DOE used its Section 202(c) authority to forestall the retirement of a power plant. During the first Trump Administration, the DOE required operation of two coal-fired units at the Yorktown Power Station in Virginia, which had been slated to retire because they were not equipped to comply with the certain mercury air standards. Third, the orders may break from traditional emergency orders typically triggered by extreme weather conditions that are only effective for only a few weeks at most. Generally, emergency orders may only last 90 days — however, the DOE may renew the order for additional 90-day periods if it deems them necessary to address the emergency. At the Yorktown Power Station, continued renewals of the emergency order continued operation of the two coal-fired units from June 16, 2017 to March 8, 2019 — almost two years.

While Congress has imposed environmental law limits upon Section 202(c) orders and actions taken pursuant to such orders, those limits prioritize the DOE’s authority to address emergencies to the extent that the DOE minimizes conflict with environmental restrictions. If a Section 202(c) order may result in conflict with an environmental law, the DOE must ensure that the order requires generation “only during hours necessary to meet the emergency and serve the public interest;” and that the DOE must “to the maximum extent practicable” ensure the order is consistent with environmental laws and minimizes any adverse environmental impacts.[5] Section 313(a) of the FPA allows anyone aggrieved by the order to apply for a rehearing within 30 days of its issuance and further judicial review by a federal court of appeals,[6] but challenges to the order based on alleged environmental law violations or adverse impacts face an ambiguous standard and deferential review.

The orders appear consonant with the Trump Administration’s goal of expanding American energy development from preferred sources — such as natural gas and coal — and with various exemptions and requirements for the DOE and other agencies set out in recent Executive Orders (EOs).[7] For example, they align with the Trump Administration’s grant of a two-year exemption on April 8, 2025, to certain coal-fired plants from the Biden Administration’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rules and requirement for the DOE (among other agencies) to consider revising or rescinding restrictions that discourage coal-fired power and submit a detailed action plan to the president outlining the funding and policy actions taken to accelerate coal technology deployment by June 7, 2025. The Secretary of Energy must also publish on the DOE’s website by July 7, 2025, a “uniform methodology” for identifying regions with reserve margins below acceptable thresholds; expedite processes for issuing Section 202(c) orders; and establish a process that leverages the “uniform methodology” and Section 202(c) orders to prevent generation resources in excess of 50 MW from leaving the bulk power system if doing so would reduce “accredited generating capacity, as determined by the reserve margin methodology.”

[1] In re Application of Consumers Energy for Approval of an Integrated Resource Plan, No. 362294 (Mich. Ct. App. Mar. 23, 2023).

[2] Notably, in addition to finding an elevated risk in the MISO region, NERC’s assessment found elevated risk for regions covered by the Saskatchewan Power Corporation, Southwest Power Pool, Electric Reliability Council of Texas, ISO-New England, and Western Electricity Coordinating Council-Mexico.

[3] For example, in December 2024, PJM asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to fast-track its interconnection review for certain planned power projects.

[4] PJM released a statement on May 31, 2025, in support of the Eddystone Order.

[5] 16 U.S.C. § 824a(c).

[6] 16 U.S.C. § 825l(a).

[7] For additional details on these Executive Orders, see the Sidley Environmental and Energy blog post available here.

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