Federal Court Vacates US DOE Order to Keep Running Coal Plant

On September 11, 2026, the D.C. Circuit Court ruled that a U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) order to keep the J.H. Campbell plant in West Olive, Michigan open was unjustified.

The plant was originally slated to retire on May 31, 2025. An order issued by the DOE on May 23, 2025, required the plant be open for an additional 90 days, invoking the DOE’s authority under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act (“FPA”), 16 U.S.C. § 824a(c), to issue orders of this nature in emergency situations. Subsequent DOE orders have continued to keep the plant open.

The D.C. Circuit Court has ruled that no such emergency existed within the meaning of the statutory provision.  The Court said in part in its opinion:

Our reading of the text, structure, and history leaves us unpersuaded by DOE’s sweeping conception of its “emergency” authority under section 202(c).  The Department’s position would empower it to pick its preferred power sources in Michigan—or, presumably, any other state—and order them to operate without regard to the multiple procedural and substantive constraints built into state reliability planning processes.

Read the court’s full opinion here: https://media.cadc.uscourts.gov/opinions/docs/2026/09/25-1159-2192454.pdf

Read the DOE’s original order here: https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2025-05/Midcontinent%20Independent%20System%20Operator%20(MISO)%20202(c)%20Order_1.pdf