Court rules that Trump can’t force a Michigan coal plant to keep running

A federal court has ruled that the Department of Energy overstepped its authority when it ordered a coal plant in Michigan, the J.H. Campbell plant, to keep running past its planned retirement. The Trump administration had used emergency powers under a 1935 law to force the plant to stay open starting in May 2025, even though the plant's owner, Consumers Energy, along with state regulators and the regional grid operator, had already agreed the closure was safe and would save money. A three-judge appeals court panel sided with Michigan, Minnesota, and Illinois, along with environmental groups, finding the DOE had no real emergency to justify the order.

The ruling only addresses that first order from May 2025, not the six follow-up orders the DOE has issued since to keep the plant running. Michigan's attorney general says the mandate has already cost Consumers Energy customers $180 million through March. The DOE has issued similar orders for plants in Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Washington state, and Pennsylvania, and the Sierra Club estimates the total cost of these orders nationwide at nearly $550 million.

For homeowners, this case is mostly about utility bills rather than any direct upgrade decision. When a utility is ordered to keep an old, costly plant running instead of retiring it as planned, those extra costs typically get passed along to customers through their electric rates. The DOE could still appeal the ruling, and similar legal challenges are pending against its other must-run orders around the country.