September 11, 2026 - A federal appeals court has ruled that the U.S. Department of Energy overstepped its authority when it ordered Michigan’s J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant to continue operating beyond its planned retirement.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled September 11 that the DOE could not use emergency powers under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act to prevent the plant’s retirement without demonstrating the existence of a genuine electricity emergency.

The unanimous decision could have broader implications for other DOE orders requiring coal-fired and other generating units across the country to remain in service after scheduled shutdown dates.

Judge Cornelia Pillard, writing for the three-judge panel, characterized Section 202(c) as a limited, last-resort authority intended to address actual emergencies rather than long-term concerns about future electricity supplies. The court concluded that the circumstances surrounding the Campbell plant did not meet that standard.

The ruling challenges a key part of the Trump administration’s effort to preserve generating capacity as electricity demand grows and concerns increase about grid reliability. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has argued that prematurely retiring dependable power generation could weaken reliability and increase electricity costs.

Opponents of the DOE orders have countered that forcing aging plants to remain operational imposes additional costs on consumers and prolongs emissions from facilities already scheduled for retirement.

Campbell Plant Was Scheduled to Close in 2025

Consumers Energy’s 1,560-MW J.H. Campbell Generating Plant sits along Lake Michigan and has operated since 1962. The facility was scheduled to retire at the end of May 2025.

Days before that retirement, the DOE invoked Section 202(c) and directed the facility to remain available. The initial 90-day emergency action was subsequently renewed multiple times.

According to Consumers Energy regulatory filings cited in the source material, the cost of continuing to operate Campbell had surpassed $248 million by June 2026, equivalent to roughly $642,000 per day. Plant operators also indicated that Campbell's generation had not been required to support the grid during that period.

Consumers Energy said following Friday's decision that it was reviewing the ruling. In the meantime, the utility said it would continue complying with the DOE's current 90-day directive and ultimately follow applicable law.

The Trump administration could appeal the decision.

Court Rejects Broad Interpretation of Emergency Powers

At the center of the dispute was the meaning of an electricity "emergency" under federal law.

The appeals court concluded that Section 202(c) cannot be used simply because federal officials believe additional generation could be beneficial to the grid in the future. Instead, the government must establish conditions consistent with an actual emergency, such as an unexpected shortage caused by failures or outages involving electricity generation or transmission infrastructure.

The judges also rejected the idea that the DOE could use emergency authority to override established utility and regional grid-planning processes. The court warned that such a broad interpretation could allow frequent federal intervention in decisions traditionally handled through long-term reliability planning.

Groups challenging the Campbell order argued that grid data showed adequate generating capacity in affected regions through at least May 2027.

DOE has taken a different view, warning that growing reliance on weather-dependent renewable generation could contribute to future electricity shortages. Opponents have argued that planned coal retirements were already being offset in part by additional baseload generation, including natural gas-fired capacity, before new solar, wind and battery storage resources were considered.

Decision Could Affect Other Coal Plant Orders

The significance of the ruling extends beyond Michigan.

DOE has used Section 202(c) to require several generating facilities to remain available despite plans to retire or reduce operations. Those include coal-fired units at the Centralia plant in Washington, Craig Station in Colorado, F.B. Culley and R.M. Schahfer plants in Indiana, and Stanton Energy Center in Florida. Units at the Eddystone plant in Pennsylvania, which can burn natural gas or oil, have also been subject to an emergency order.

Several of those actions are facing legal challenges, making the D.C. Circuit's interpretation of DOE's emergency authority potentially important for future cases.

Environmental organizations and officials from several states welcomed the Campbell decision, arguing that DOE had improperly used emergency powers to interfere with previously approved retirement plans. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, whose state challenged the order, said the decision supported Michigan's contention that the federal government lacked sufficient grounds to override the plant's planned closure.

The DOE had not immediately responded to a request for comment cited in the source following the ruling.

The decision establishes a significant legal limit on how the federal government may use emergency authority to keep power plants operating. Its impact could now extend to other aging coal units that the administration has sought to preserve as part of its effort to maintain dispatchable generation on the U.S. electric grid.