LANSING — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced her intent to file a request for rehearing with the U.S. Department of Energy, challenging the Department's sixth order forcing Consumers Energy to keep the J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant in West Olive operating until November 14, 2026. That deadline comes nearly a year and a half beyond the plant's previously approved retirement date of May 31, 2025.
DOE issued the most recent order Friday under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, citing an energy emergency. Nessel's office has repeatedly disputed that basis, arguing the Department has not demonstrated a genuine emergency that would justify keeping the aging plant online.
"After six so-called emergency orders, it is clear that DOE intends to stretch Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act to force an aging, obsolete plant to operate indefinitely," Nessel said. "Hundreds of millions of dollars in unnecessary costs are stacking up, and Michigan families will be forced to foot the bill to keep online a plant that should have been retired more than a year ago. My office remains committed to challenging these unlawful extensions before the Court to protect our ratepayers."
The retirement of the Campbell Plant, originally built in the 1960s, was part of a plan that included procuring replacement power resources to more than account for its removal. The closure was projected to save Michigan ratepayers nearly $600 million. Instead, Consumers Energy has reported $295 million in costs tied to the plant from May 2025 through June 30, 2026. The utility is seeking to recover those costs from electric customers across the north and central regions of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator.
Nessel has already filed five requests for rehearing with DOE and four petitions for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Her office recently made oral arguments before the Court challenging DOE's original order of May 23, 2025.
The Attorney General is also litigating before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission after it granted Consumers Energy's request to allocate the continued operating costs to the MISO north and central regions, which span 11 states and one Canadian province. Nessel has argued that because the underlying DOE orders are unlawful, cost recovery from those ratepayers would also be unlawful. Her office has further challenged similar DOE orders targeting coal plants in Indiana, seeking to protect Michigan residents from the costs of those orders as well.