DETROIT — Environmental groups and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel launched separate challenges Wednesday to a U.S. Department of Energy order that requires Consumers Energy to extend the life of J.H. Campbell, a coal-fired power plant in west Michigan, both arguing the department leaned on a fabricated energy emergency for its decree.

EarthJustice, a nonprofit environmental law firm working with nearly a dozen environmental groups, on Wednesday filed a request for a rehearing with the Department of Energy. They said the department was wrong to issue the emergency order directing Campbell to operate through Aug. 21 even though Consumers, the Michigan Public Service Commission, the Michigan Attorney General's office and other groups agreed on a plan to shutter the plant at the end of May.

"From our vantage point, it seems like what is really at play here is the administration has a preferred generation source, a preferred fuel source, and that is coal, that is fossil fuels," Earthjustice attorney Shannon Fisk said. "They are unlawfully using an emergency authority as a way to try to implement their desired fuel source and to prop up coal plants that are no longer economically viable."

Nessel also filed a request for a rehearing Wednesday, arguing Michigan must defend its ability to determine where its power is generated.

"The closure of this coal-powered electric plant has been planned for years, the utility made all due preparations to maintain our energy load without it, and the closure has been agreed to and cited in settlements affecting customer costs," she said in a press release.

In his May 23 order requiring Consumers and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator to keep Campbell open for the summer, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright warned the Midwest region faces a potential tight reserve of power during emergency scenarios of high demand and low output. The Trump administration official cited the closures of fossil fuel and nuclear plants, including a Petoskey nuclear plant that closed in 1997, as the reason for the shortfall.

"Today’s emergency order ensures that Michiganders and the greater Midwest region do not lose critical power generation capability as summer begins and electricity demand regularly reach high levels," Wright said in May.

Nessel had suggested in May she may pursue a lawsuit over the DOE's order to keep Campbell operational.

"Under President Trump, the DOE and Secretary Wright are ensuring Americans have access to all forms of reliable energy, including coal," Department of Energy Press Secretary and Chief Spokesperson Ben Dietderich said Wednesday in a statement. "For years, American grid operators have warned decommissioning baseload power sources such as coal plants would jeopardize the reliability of our grid systems, including in MISO."

In his order, Wright cited a May report from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation that said MISO, which administers wholesale electricity in Michigan and nearby states, is at “elevated risk of operating reserve shortfalls during periods of high demand or low resource output,” particularly depending on how much wind and solar systems are generating during peak demands.

MISO has enough resources to meet demand during normal scenarios, the report states, unless the demand surges or there are extreme generator outages. In those cases, NAERC said MISO could reduce demand by having large users scale down their consumption, buying power from a neighboring region or imposing an energy emergency.

MISO also said it has enough electricity to meet demand this summer, barring an extreme situation.

"MISO is not in an energy emergency at this time," spokesperson Brandon Morris said.

In an April report, MISO analysts acknowledged that one of the organization's challenges was that the majority of new energy sources were intermittent — meaning they don't generate electricity in all conditions, such as solar and wind. MISO said its other challenges were accelerating electricity demand, the rapid retirements of power plants, delayed additions to the grid and more frequent extreme weather.

Fisk described Wright's order as "fearmongering," since MISO and NAERC forecast the region has sufficient energy for most scenarios and options to deal with extreme circumstances.

"The bottom line is there is no emergency," Fisk said. "MISO has been clear that it has adequate resources and adequate generation for the upcoming summer. MISO has a very comprehensive process for evaluating this issue."

Consumers seeks payment mechanism

Consumers spokesman Brian Wheeler said the company is complying with Wright's order and started working to acquire coal as soon as it was issued. The first coal delivery arrived before the end of May.

Natural gas plants owned by or under contract with Consumers supply "reliable, on-demand electricity to meet Michigan's energy needs," Wheeler said. "Our supply plan is diverse and meets customers' reliability requirements."

Consumers is offering power generated at Campbell to the MISO regional market. The plant is producing energy when needed, according to a complaint Consumers filed June 6 with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Consumers filed the complaint with FERC requesting the commission establish a mechanism for Consumers to recover costs from MISO associated with operating Campbell under the DOE emergency order.

"The more immediate issue is that the MISO Tariff currently contains no mechanism to provide compensation to generators in the MISO footprint operating pursuant to section 202(c) emergency orders, and no basis to allocate such costs to reflect the nature of an emergency declared pursuant to section 202(c)," the complaint states.

"We expect the cost of operating the plant should be shared by customers across the north and central MISO region — not borne solely by Consumers Energy customers," Wheeler said. "Actual costs will depend on a number of factors, including offsetting revenue from plant operations, and are still being determined."

Campbell plant closure decided in 2022

The Campbell plant opened in 1962 in Port Sheldon Township. On its website, Consumers Energy said the plant can generate enough electricity to serve 1 million people.

In April, Trump signed an executive order that said the country must "increase domestic energy production, including coal."

"Coal is abundant and cost effective, and can be used in any weather condition," Trump's order said. "Moreover, the industry has historically employed hundreds of thousands of Americans."

Consumers agreed to retire Campbell in 2025 in its integrated resource plan approved by the Michigan Public Service Commission in 2022. At the time, environmental groups said the Campbell plant was the largest source of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in west Michigan.

The coal plant’s retirement was a central part of the company’s commitment to stop burning coal by 2025. It also involved shutting down two coal-fired units near Bay City and replacing the power by purchasing the natural gas-powered Covert Generation Station and extending the use of two natural gas units near Bay City, adding solar power and energy storage, and making a one-time electricity purchase.

The company touted the planned end of its coal era, with President and CEO Garrick Rochow describing the 2022 decision to accelerate the end of its coal use as "a sea change that positions our company as a national leader and empowers us to deliver reliable energy while protecting the planet for decades to come."

Earthjustice's Fisk said Consumers had not invested in long-term maintenance of Campbell because the company expected to shut the plant down in May.

"This is an old jalopy that has not been maintained," said Fisk. "Why anybody would think that is what you need to force to stay open even if there were an energy emergency, it’s baseless."

Fisk said he is concerned Wright will extend the order beyond Aug. 21.

The Michigan Environmental Council was among the environmental groups that signed on to the request for a rehearing. Charlotte Jameson, chief policy officer, said Wright's order is an abuse of the federal executive branch's emergency powers and a bid to prop up the coal industry.

"Make no mistake, this unnecessary order will result in higher costs for Michiganders and more air and water pollution, all while further delaying the opportunity to turn a prime coastal property from a toxic coal plant to something that will benefit the community," she said.

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