Some environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and the Michigan Environmental Council, along with electric utility regulators such as the Michigan Public Service Commission and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, are waiting for the U.S. Department of Energy to respond to a petition asking for a rehearing on the Trump administration’s decision to stop Consumers Energy from shutting down one of its coal-burning power plants.
President Donald Trump declared an "energy emergency" in order to keep open some coal-burning plants that were slated to close.
The Department of Energy ordered Consumers Energy to stop plans to shut down the J.H. Campbell coal-burning power plant near Lake Michigan.
Environmental groups and regulators have asked the Department of Energy to reconsider its order to keep the plant open.
“There’s no emergency. All the state officials, our regional transmission operator, everybody agrees, Consumers agrees there’s no emergency. There’s no need to keep Campbell open,” said Charlotte Jameson, chief policy officer with the Michigan Environmental Council.
The petition calls for the energy department to "rescind this costly, harmful, and unnecessary and unlawful order."
President Trump’s "energy emergency" declaration was followed up by an executive order to reinvigorate what he calls the “Beautiful Clean Coal” industry.
“It’s really a political tactic to try to keep coal plants open,” Jameson said.
The petition language also argues there's "no significant risk to the reliability of the electric system in Michigan or elsewhere."
If the Department of Energy has not responded to the petition in 30 days, the environmentalists and utility regulators can then take the issue to court.
Editor's note: Consumers Energy is among Michigan Public's corporate sponsors.
