On Tuesday, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued a familiar order: Coal plants that are slated to close because of a so-called energy emergency will be forced to stay open. This time the order targeted one of three units at Craig Station, Colorado, which was scheduled to close at the end of this year. The remaining two units were expected to close in 2028.
The proximate reason for this order is the emergency situation arising due to lack of production capacity. “Reliable supply of power from the coal plant is essential to keeping the region’s electrical grid stable,” according to a statement issued by the Department of Energy. Yet the Colorado Sun noted that Colorado’s Public Utility Commission had already analyzed the impact of its potential closure, and determined, “Craig Unit 1 is not needed for reliability or resource adequacy purposes.”
The order does not require the plant to actually produce electricity; Instead, orders have been given to make it available in case there is a shortfall in production. As reported in a Colorado Sun article, the actual operation of the plant would potentially violate Colorado laws, which regulate airborne pollution and set limits on greenhouse gas emissions. The costs of maintaining the plant are likely to fall on local ratepayers, who had already adjusted to closure plans.
DOE’s use of emergency powers is authorized under the Federal Power Act, which allows it to order temporary disconnection of generation or infrastructure when the US is at war or when “an emergency exists due to a sudden increase in demand for electrical energy, or a shortage of electrical energy.” It is not at all clear whether “we expect demand to increase in the future,” DOE’s current reasoning, is consistent with the definition of emergency. It is also hard to see how the use of coal plants complies with the other limitations on use imposed by these emergency orders:
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