US court rejects Trump’s emergency order keeping Michigan coal plant open

A federal appeals panel unanimously ruled that the US Energy Department went beyond its statutory authority when it ordered the JH Campbell coal-fired power plant in Michigan to remain in service past its planned retirement. The judges concluded that the emergency provision of the Federal Power Act did not apply because the circumstances did not present the kind of immediate crisis that the law was intended to address.

Judge Cornelia Pillard, writing for the three-judge panel, said the emergency clause is meant to be a narrow, last-resort tool and cannot be used where states or utilities might address reliability concerns on their own. The opinion described the reversal of the plant’s “long and carefully planned retirement” as disruptive to decisions already made about the facility’s future.

The JH Campbell plant, operated by Consumers Energy, had been scheduled to shut down in May 2025 but remained online under Department of Energy orders. Financial filings indicate continuing operations have cost about $259m, and opponents warned those expenses could ultimately be passed to households and businesses. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, whose office joined challenges from Illinois and Minnesota, praised the appeals court decision; Consumers Energy said it was reviewing the ruling.

The Energy Department defended its use of emergency authority, saying the orders helped avert blackouts and “likely saved hundreds of lives” during periods of heavy demand and severe winter storms. The department also reported that coal generation in impacted areas rose by 25 percent during the winter storm peak compared with the prior year. The Michigan case is one of several legal disputes over such orders; the department issued another emergency order hours after the ruling to keep a plant in Centralia, Washington online, and has issued similar directives for facilities in Indiana, Colorado, Florida and an oil-and-gas plant in Pennsylvania.