### Trump Administration Forces Coal and Gas Plants to Stay Open, Surprising Operators and Consumers

The Trump administration has issued surprising orders to keep a 63-year-old coal-fired plant in Michigan and an oil- and gas-powered plant from the 1960s in Pennsylvania operational, disrupting plans to close the facilities on June 1. Consumers Energy's J.H. Campbell Complex in Ottawa County, Michigan was among the plants affected.

The administration declared a national "energy emergency" as part of its broader objective to bolster fossil fuel industries, particularly coal. Nonetheless, the grid operators in Michigan and Pennsylvania indicated that they had no plans to utilize the power from these plants this summer and did not request the intervention.

Expected costs associated with keeping the plants open could amount to tens of millions of dollars, potentially burdening consumers. Experts argue that there is scant evidence supporting the declaration of a national energy emergency. This perspective is reflected in legal actions, with 15 states having already sued against President Trump's directive, which was surprisingly issued on his first day in office.

The emergency orders caught the plant-operating companies off-guard. They are now in a rush to delay the retirements of some workers and revise almost finalized plans to shut down the facilities. For instance, the operator of the Michigan plant is hastily procuring enough coal to sustain operations.

Traditionally, the Department of Energy's emergency powers under the Federal Power Act have been invoked during acute crises such as extreme weather events and blackouts. However, the circumstances surrounding these recent orders mark a notable deviation from precedent, prompting a wide array of reactions from industry experts and regional grid operators alike.