A coal-fired power plant in west Michigan has continued operate for over a year past its intended shutdown under a series of federal emergency orders, including one that took effect this week.
The Trump administration orders declare that an “energy emergency” justifies keeping Consumer Energy’s J.H. Campbell plant operating regardless of the company’s plans to retire it.
But Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Thursday there is no emergency and the orders are a simply a ruse to keep the plant and slow the transition from fossil fuels to wind, solar and batteries.
“Just by declaring something an emergency doesn’t make it so,” she said.
Nessel and other Democratic attorneys general are fighting the Department of Energy orders in court. Michigan argued its case last week before U.S. Court of Appeals panel in Washington D.C.
The effort is backed by environmental groups and civil rights organizations.
“What we are witnessing is not an energy emergency,” said Kareem Scales with the Greater Grand Rapids NAACP. “It is a political decision that continues to prioritize fossil fuel interests over people’s health, economic stability and environmental justice.”
The U.S. Department of Energy says the renewed orders are meant to avert a crisis and help ensure electricity remains available across much of the Midwest during weather emergencies and peak demand periods.
"The Energy Department's emergency authorizations prevented blackouts and likely saved hundreds of lives during peak capacity events this past year,” a DOE spokesperson said in an email. “As Secretary (Chris) Wright has stated repeatedly, the value of any grid should be measured by how it performs when demand for electricity is at peak levels — not during regular demand periods when there are oftentimes abundant amounts of excess capacity.”
The Midcontinent Independent Systems Operator approved shutting down the plant back in 2022, finding the grid would have enough capacity without it.
Consumers Energy spokesperson Brian Wheeler said the utility is watching the case against the Trump administration emergency orders.
“Since May of last year, we have complied and our plan is to continue to comply with federal orders,” he told Michigan Public Radio. “We worked, starting May 23 of last year, to make sure that were able to continue to operate Campbell even though initially it was supposed to stop operations by June 1.”
Wheeler said the utility is working to make sure that any additional costs are not all passed onto its Michigan customers. He said power generated by the Campbell plant is loaded onto the 15-state regional electric grid system that Michigan is part of, so those costs should be shared among its members.
