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LANSING – Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated the U.S. Department of Energy‘s (DOE) first arbitrary and illegal order (PDF) forcing the continued operation of Consumers Energy's J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant in West Olive, Michigan. Earlier this year, the Department of Attorney General gave oral argument challenging the original May 23, 2025, order to cancel the Campbell retirement. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has consistently argued that the order disregards all prior planning and regulatory approvals, in yet another example of the Trump administration arbitrarily declaring a false emergency as a pretext for advancing its policy agenda by means outside its normal authority. The Court ruled that the DOE order was an unlawful use of Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act.
“By forcing its continued operation, DOE tried a never-before-used tactic to illegally prop up the aging J.H. Campbell coal plant that nobody asked to keep, sticking ratepayers with a bill for a facility that should have been retired more than a year ago,” said Attorney General Nessel. “I am relieved that the Court saw through this facade and threw out DOE’s order that had zero basis in reality. My office has been fighting this unlawful political stunt at every turn, and this ruling proves what we have been saying all along: this administration does not get to invent fake emergencies to bypass the rule of law against the best interests of Michigan residents. We remain committed to fighting these nonsensical orders and protecting our ratepayers.”
The retirement of the Campbell plant, originally built in the 1960s, and its replacement with more cost-effective resources were elements of a carefully considered plan that was expected to save Michigan ratepayers nearly $600 million. Instead, Consumers Energy has reported $295 million in costs associated with the Campbell plant from May 2025 to June 30, 2026, which the utility is seeking to recover from electric customers across the north and central regions of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator.
Since Attorney General Nessel initially challenged the forced continued operation of the plant, DOE has extended its order on five separate occasions. DOE’s sixth order forces Consumers Energy to run the J.H. Campbell coal plant until November 14, 2026, nearly a year and a half beyond its previously approved retirement date of May 31, 2025. The Attorney General has filed six requests for rehearing with the DOE and five petitions for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Today is the first time a decision has been made on these challenges.
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