AG Nessel to Challenge Latest Illegal DOE Order Forcing Operation 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. Earlier this week, DOE issued its fifth order under Federal Power Act Section 202(c) forcing Consumers Energy to run the J.H. Campbell coal plant until August 16, 2026, more than a year beyond its previously approved retirement date of May 31, 2025.

“We are nearly a year into these so-called emergency orders designed to keep an aging coal plant on life support at the expense of Michigan ratepayers,” said Attorney General Nessel. “Never before has DOE hijacked a plant's retirement without a real, short-term crisis. Now the costs are stacking up, and my office will continue to fight these unlawful extensions.”

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. This 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 was expected to save Michigan ratepayers nearly $600 million. Instead, Consumers Energy has reported at least $180 million in costs associated with the Campbell plant past its scheduled retirement date, not including ongoing costs of running the plant from March 31, 2026, to the present.

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 four requests for rehearing with the DOE and four petitions for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Last week, the Department of Attorney General gave oral arguments before the Court challenging DOE’s original May 23, 2025, order.

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 she 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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