AG Nessel to Challenge New DOE Order Forcing Illegal, Costly Operations of J.H. Campbell Plant

LANSING – Today, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is announcing her intent to file a request for rehearing with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), challenging the Department’s latest arbitrary and illegal order forcing the continued operation of Consumers Energy’s J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant in West Olive, Michigan, under the pretense of a fabricated energy emergency. DOE’s fourth order under Federal Power Act Section 202(c) forces Consumers Energy to run the J.H. Campbell coal plant until May 18, 2026, nearly a year beyond its previously approved retirement date of May 31, 2025. The retirement was approved by the Michigan Public Service Commission after extensive planning and analysis by state regulators and the broader inter-state power grid. This has included the procurement of replacement power resources, and the planning for future resources, to more than account for the removal of the J.H Campbell Plant.

The retirement of the Campbell Plant 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 at least $135 million in costs associated with the Campbell plant past its scheduled retirement date, not including ongoing costs of running the plant from December 31, 2025, to the present.

“The Department of Energy has once again failed to show any legitimate energy emergency after almost a year of unlawfully forcing the J.H. Campbell Plant to remain operational,” said Attorney General Nessel. “Instead of respecting Michigan’s careful planning and the rule of law, this administration is propping up an aging coal plant at a staggering and completely unnecessary cost to ratepayers. My office will continue to challenge these arbitrary orders to protect our residents from bankrolling a fabricated crisis.”

Attorney General Nessel has consistently argued that DOE has not been able to show the actual emergency it’s using to justify the continued operation of the J.H. Campbell Plant. She has already filed three requests for rehearing with the DOE and three petitions for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Those proceedings are still ongoing.

In addition, the Attorney General is litigating before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission after it granted Consumers Energy’s request to allocate the costs of continuing to run the J.H. Campbell coal plant to the Midcontinent Independent System Operator north and central regions, which consists of 11 states and one Canadian province. The Attorney General has argued that the underlying DOE orders forcing the coal plant to run are unlawful and intends to request a hearing on these additional costs to ensure that they are accurate and reasonable. The Attorney General has further challenged similar DOE orders targeting coal plants in Indiana, seeking to protect Michiganders from the costs of those unlawful orders as well. 

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