Washington coal plant produces no power but plenty of costs. Who pays?

The last coal-fired power plant in Washington, near Centralia, hasn't burned coal since December, but the Trump administration has ordered it to stay on standby, citing regional energy security. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has renewed that order twice, most recently through September 13, 2026. The plant's owner, TransAlta, says it's complying but wants reimbursement for the cost of keeping the facility and its workforce ready to run — nearly $20 million so far, with another $23 million possibly needed for repairs if the standby order continues into fall.

The fight now is over who pays. TransAlta wants the costs split among regional grid managers and power authorities, including the Portland-based Bonneville Power Administration, which supplies wholesale power to more than 130 utilities across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and western Montana. Those entities say they never asked for or received coal power from the plant and shouldn't be billed. If regulators side with TransAlta, the costs could eventually show up in electric bills across the Northwest, since utilities may pass them on to customers. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is reviewing the dispute, with no set timeline for a decision.

Washington law now makes coal power increasingly uneconomical in the state — new sales taxes on coal deliveries, required carbon-emission fees, and a ban on utilities buying coal-derived electricity starting this year. TransAlta says it doesn't expect the plant to actually burn coal again and is instead pursuing a conversion to natural gas, with a final decision expected in 2027.