Running a coal-fired power plant near Lake Michigan, which the Trump administration has ordered Consumers Energy to keep operating despite the company's plans to shut it down at the end of May, cost $80 million through September 30, the company said in a recent filing with federal regulators.
Consumers plans to spread the cost of operating the J.H. Campbell Generating Plant across electricity ratepayers in the multi-state Midwest power grid, the company said in its filing.
A spokesperson for Consumers said the company is continuing to comply with federal orders and is prepared to continue operating the plant. The company said it plans to file a request later this year with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to recover the costs of keeping the plant running.
Sanjay Narayan, an attorney with the Sierra Club’s Environmental Law Program, said emergency orders, like the one keeping the Campbell plant open, create a lot of uncertainty around the future because there is no long-term plan in place. “Each emergency order lasts 90 days, but it can be renewed, and the administration has already renewed it once,” he said.
“One consequence of not being able to plan is that you can’t make the best choices because you can’t reliably control what’s going to happen,” Narayan said. “And that’s going to cost people money.”
Coal: a dirty energy source
Narayan said coal is dirtier, more expensive, and less efficient than other energy sources like solar, battery, and wind power.
"Every coal plant emits massive quantities of sulfur dioxide and mercury and lead. They are among the dirtiest industrial facilities," and the Campbell plant is one of many aging coal plants in the country that is unable to compete economically with more modern forms of generation, Narayan said.
Bryan Smigielski, Michigan campaign organizer with the environmental group the Sierra Club, said Consumers was moving towards more advanced technologies and an evolving electricity grid, which contributed to the company's decision to close the plant, but the Trump administration had other ideas.
The U.S. Energy Department Department of Energy has said there's a risk of an electricity shortage if the coal plant shuts down. Consumers and the Michigan Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities in the state, have both said their plans account for energy demands.
Smigielski said the emergency order was also motivated by a desire to provide energy for data center development for big tech and AI companies.
In a statement, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said that “maintaining access to affordable, reliable, and secure power is always our top priority.”
The cost
Consumers has said its plan to end coal power generation, led by shutting down the Campbell power plant, was going to “save customers an estimated $600 million through 2040,” in addition to providing an array of environmental benefits.
Smigielski added that sulfur dioxide emissions from coal plants are tied to a wide range of health problems, including asthma attacks, heart disease, neurological damage, early onset dementia, and death, according to Smigielski.
“We don’t have a need for it in the community,” Smigielski said. “So all of its emissions, all of its costs … there’s not a lot of upside. It’s hard to name who’s actually winning from keeping it online.”
Smigielski added that he has received many complaints from Michigan residents. “They have said loud and clear that they do not want to pay for dirty energy generation. People that are already spending over 6% of their income on energy bills don’t have extra money to fund a coal plant we don’t need.”
“At the end of the day, these costs are going to be borne by the public, not Consumers,” Narayan said.
Editor's note: Consumers Energy is one of Michigan Public's corporate sponsors.
