A U.S. federal appeals court has invalidated a Department of Energy (DOE) order that compelled a Michigan coal-fired power plant to continue operating after its planned retirement date. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a unanimous decision concluding that the DOE exceeded the scope of a seldom-used emergency provision in federal law.
The state of Michigan had challenged the DOE directive after the department instructed the Consumers Energy-owned J.H. Campbell Generating Plant in 2025 to stay online shortly before its scheduled closure. The court found that the emergency authority relied on by DOE did not lawfully authorize the action, according to court documents.
The ruling interrupts a series of emergency interventions that the administration has applied since 2025 to extend the operational lives of several older power plants that were set for retirement. Those interventions have included coal facilities in Michigan, Indiana, Washington state and Colorado. Administrations have cited a need to preserve capacity as U.S. electricity demand has increased, including demand tied to the growth of data centers.
Coal-fired generation remains one of the largest sources of carbon dioxide emissions linked to climate change, a point noted in the court filings.
The Consumers Energy plant had been scheduled to close in 2025 because it was deemed no longer economic. The Michigan attorney general’s office reported that keeping the plant running under the DOE order cost the utility $295 million from May 2025 through June 2026.
After the appeals court ruling, Consumers Energy said it is reviewing the decision. Company spokesperson Brian Wheeler said the utility is continuing to comply with the existing 90-day DOE order that keeps the Campbell plant operating while the review takes place.
"While that happens, we are continuing to comply with the current 90-day Department of Energy order that keeps the Campbell plant operating," Brian Wheeler, a spokesperson for Consumers Energy, said.
A spokesperson for Michigan’s attorney general did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
"The DOE needs to stay in its lane and use its emergency powers only in actual emergencies," Michael Lenoff, an attorney with environmental group Earthjustice, said in a statement. "Preventing the market-driven retirements of coal plants to advance a coal-friendly agenda is not a proper use of emergency powers."
The decision follows the DOE’s recent extension of an emergency order that kept the aging J.H. Campbell Generating Plant open through November 14. The appeals court ruling represents a legal rebuke to the administration’s broader strategy of invoking emergency powers under the Federal Power Act to sustain older generators slated for retirement.
Stakeholders in the utility sector and markets tracking energy supply decisions will likely follow subsequent filings and any further administrative responses closely. The court’s finding that the DOE exceeded its authority raises immediate legal and regulatory questions about when and how emergency powers may be deployed to influence plant retirements that market participants have already priced in.
Context notes: The appeals court decision directly addresses the narrow legal question of statutory authority under the emergency provision cited by the DOE. The broader policy debate about preserving generation capacity against market-driven retirements and the environmental implications of extended coal operations remains unresolved in the legal record cited by the court.