March 4, 2026, 11:01 p.m. ET
Lansing — Consumers Energy spent more than $135 million operating the coal-fired J.H. Campbell Power Plant in west Michigan in 2025 after President Donald Trump’s administration issued an emergency order requiring the plant remain operational past its planned closure, the company disclosed in federal filings.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel presented the figure to the state Senate Committee on Energy and Environment during a Wednesday presentation about the Trump administration’s actions that she contended hamper a transition to cleaner energy sources to prioritize fossil fuels.
She said the federal policies have raised energy prices in Michigan and extended the use of fuels that warm the planet and harm people’s health. The energy emergency Trump declared during the early days of his second term in office specified the need to build out coal and excluded renewable power sources, which are more affordable at a utility scale, Nessel said.
“Whether you rent a home or own a business or you run a large corporation, rising utility costs, as you know, hurts every single one of us,” Nessel said to the committee. “Now is absolutely not the time to limit the tools that we have to address this crisis.”
The hearing took place as Americans express anxiety about increasing energy prices and the tech industry’s rapidly growing need for electricity.
Last month, Michigan energy regulators approved a $242 million rate hike for DTE Energy, one of the state’s major private regulated utility companies. Detroit-based DTE then asked for another increase five days later.
Michigan households carry a higher energy burden than their counterparts in most states, according to a 2025 report from the Citizens Utility Board of Michigan, a nonprofit formed in 2018 to advocate for affordable and renewable energy. The report ranked Michigan 36th in energy affordability, a low ranking driven by higher-than-average electricity prices.
How much it cost Consumers to operate Campbell coal plant
In filings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission early this year, Jackson-based Consumers Energy said the net financial impact of complying with the emergency orders in 2025 was $135 million, even after receiving $155 in revenues from selling energy generated by the plant to the regional grid, the regional grid, Midcontinent Independent System Operator.
It’s unclear how those costs will be paid. Consumers and other states in the MISO system are negotiating a cost recovery plan with the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
“Consumers will seek recovery of these compliance costs at a later date, consistent with rate recovery sought for the May 2025 emergency order,” the company said in its SEC filing. “The ultimate financial impact remains subject to the outcome of the FERC proceeding and any future guidance or interpretation.”
Those costs will keep expanding as Campbell continues operating and as the Department of Energy continues issuing emergency orders that block the closure of other coal plants in the Midwest, said Derrell Slaughter, Michigan climate and energy policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council.
“There’s no end in sight,” he said. “Those emergency orders, 90 days at a time, we’re expecting them to continue to issue those until the end of the administration.”
Why Trump administration ordered Michigan coal plant to keep running
Consumers had planned to shutter the Campbell plant in May 2025, based on an agreement it negotiated with Nessel’s office and environmental groups.
Roughly a week before the planned closure, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued a 90-day emergency order requiring Consumers and MISO keep Campbell open for the summer. Wright warned the Midwest region faced a potential tight reserve of power during emergency scenarios of high demand and low output.
He has since issued a series of orders and the plant remains operating.
Nessel’s office and environmental groups have fought back, arguing Wright overstepped his emergency powers to force the plant to stay open. Nessel on Wednesday said the federal energy secretary can issue temporary emergency orders during extreme events such as wars, hurricanes or blizzards.
“None of those circumstances had existed when this occurred,” she said. “This is just pure policy preference from the White House enacted in an unlawful manner that usurps local and state control.”
Sen. Roger Hauck, R-Mount Pleasant, asked Nessel whether she believed MISO was right to issue an emergency ruling during a January winter storm, when the grid operator allowed itself to make emergency power purchases, reduce load from large users and access emergency sources.
Nessel and her team said they have no issue with the proper use of emergency actions. She said a temporary increase in natural gas use is a more appropriate response to potential emergencies than continuous operation of a coal plant.
In addition to cost, the continued operation of the Campbell plant extends the pollution emitted by the plant. Burning coal releases fine particulates and sulfur dioxide, two pollutants that can hurt people’s ability to breathe and cause other health issues.
The Campbell plant also releases 8.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, Nessel said. That’s as much as is emitted by 1.8 million passenger vehicles in a year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“There is now a never-ending continuation of air and water pollution resulting from these emergency orders,” Nessel said.
ckthompson@detroitnews.com
