In Court, Sierra Club & Earthjustice Argue Against the Illegal Coal Plant Extensions that are Increasing Hoosiers’ Bills

Washington, D.C. — Today, Sierra Club and Earthjustice presented oral arguments before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in the legal challenge against the Department of Energy’s (DOE) illegal application of Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act.

“The Sierra Club will not stand by and let the administration illegally force coal plants to stay online while American families pay the price,” said Sierra Club Senior Attorney Greg Wannier. “The Trump administration is using this made-up emergency to throw unpopular, expensive, and archaic coal plants a life line. These orders have already cost families far too much of their hard-earned money, and we will put an end to them.”

In May 2025, DOE claimed there was an “energy emergency” and forced the J.H. Campbell power plant in Michigan to remain online past its scheduled retirement. Since then, the “emergency” order has been re-issued four times. Extension of the Campbell coal plant and other coal plants, including the Culley and Schahfer plants in Indiana, have increased utility bills for Hoosiers. CenterPoint, owner of the Culley coal plant, even wrote a letter to the DOE asking them not to reissue an emergency order, stating that maintaining the coal plant “will require substantial investment to support an inefficient and increasingly unreliable asset.” The DOE ignored this request and ordered CenterPoint to keep the Culley unit open through at least June 21, 2026.

Nicole Chandler, Southwest Indiana Beyond Coal Campaign Organizer, said, “The Trump Administration continues to offer handouts to billion dollar fossil fuel companies, while everyday Hoosiers and Americans across the country are strapped with higher utility bills, higher gas prices, and higher costs for everyday needs. These “energy emergencies” are nothing more than a sham designed to keep propping up the coal industry while real people are stuck shouldering the costs.”

According to the Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s most recent capacity auction, the region saw an increase in capacity independent of the DOE’s forced extensions. Out of the 5.6 GW of new capacity in the region, more than half was provided by solar-powered generation. This further shows that the region J.H. Campbell serves does not have an “energy emergency”, and the DOE lacks justification for these illegal extensions. Despite this added capacity, the states in MISO’s footprint will have to continue to pay for these arbitrary and costly extensions.

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person’s right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.

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