The Energy Department lost its bid to keep the J.H. Campbell coal plant operating, after a federal appeals court ruled the agency exceeded its emergency authority. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the department had not shown the kind of immediate crisis the Federal Power Act requires, and it vacated the order that forced the 64-year-old Michigan plant to stay open past its scheduled retirement date.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright had invoked emergency powers to keep the plant running, arguing it was needed for regional electricity reliability. States and environmental organisations challenged the decision, with Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota joining the legal action. A unanimous three-judge panel sided with those challengers.
Appeals Court Judge Cornelia Pillard, writing for the panel, said the statute’s emergency provision "is essentially a narrow, last-resort backstop." She added that reversing the plant’s "long and carefully planned retirement ... the results are disruptive," and concluded there was "no 'emergency' within the meaning" of the law.
The Michigan case is one of several legal fights that have arisen nationwide as the administration has used emergency authorities to try to prevent about half a dozen coal-fired plants from closing. Critics of the orders say they raise costs for ratepayers and increase pollution, outcomes that would not have occurred had the retirements proceeded. Officials said keeping the Campbell plant open cost at least $135 million in 2025 alone.
The appeals court decision removes the immediate regulatory basis for keeping the J.H. Campbell plant online and represents a legal rebuke to the administration’s use of the Federal Power Act in this way. The ruling also joins an expanding set of court challenges to similar emergency orders around the country, leaving the fate of other plants dependent on separate litigation.
