Nessel vows another challenge as DOE issues 6th order keeping Campbell plant open

While U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has said the plant’s power is needed to help prevent power outages amid periods of high energy demand, Nessel has repeatedly argued that the department is unable to prove an energy emergency.

During its 2026 planning resource auction, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, the electric grid operator for the central United States, determined its resources were sufficient to meet energy demand and reserve requirements through Spring 2027. MISO also noted it is working to address adequacy challenges like accelerating demand for electricity and insufficient resource additions.

Since the department issued its first order on May 23, 2025, Nessel has filed five requests for rehearing of the department’s emergency orders and four petitions for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. On May 15, the Michigan Department of Attorney General argued against the original order in federal appeals court.

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“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 in a statement Monday. “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.”

According to its most recent quarterly report, the plant’s owner, Consumers Energy, has spent $259 million keeping the plant online after subtracting the $239 million in revenue it received from MISO.

“At a time when energy costs are skyrocketing, Donald Trump is forcing Michiganders to pay more to keep the outdated Campbell coal plant running, a move that has cost ratepayers $259 million to date,” Bentley Johnson, the federal government affairs director for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, said in a statement. “Consumers Energy has confirmed it is costing more than $640,000 every single day to keep Campbell open, and those costs are being passed on to Michigan customers. Michiganders need relief, not expensive executive overreach to prop up outdated fossil fuel plants.”

While the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, has granted Consumers Energy’s request to allocate the costs of operating the plant beyond Michigan to ratepayers across MISO’s north and central regions, Nessel has also challenged Consumers’ request. 

Because the underlying DOE orders forcing the coal plant to run are unlawful, cost recovery from MISO ratepayers would also be unlawful, Nessel argues. 

In a statement to Michigan Advance, Consumers Energy Director of Media Relations Katie Carey said the company is continuing to comply with federal orders.

“We are also focused on ensuring that all beneficiaries pay their fair share of costs of the plant,” Carey said. “Recovery of these costs, as authorized by FERC, will deliver savings directly to our customers.”