President Trump keeping campaign promises to revive the declining coal industry
NIPSCO’s R.M. Schahfer plant in Wheatfield, in Jasper County and the F.B. Culley plant, operated by CenterPoint Energy in downstate Warrick County received orders from the Dept. of Energy that delayed their closings.
NIPSCO got its order Tuesday, December 23, just a week before the plant’s final day of operation that had been set for December 31.
Dept. of Energy Secretary Chris Wright said his orders will prevent blackouts and ensure Americans in the Midwest have access to affordable, reliable, and secure electricity heading into the winter months.
“The Trump Administration remains committed to swiftly deploying all available tools and authorities to safeguard the reliability, affordability, and security of the nation’s energy system,” said Secretary Wright. “Keeping these coal plants online has the potential to save lives and is just common sense. Americans deserve reliable power regardless of whether the wind is blowing or the sun is shining during extreme winter conditions.”
Wright ordered the plants to stay open 90 more days.
Schahfer has been on the path to closure since 2018 when NiSource, NIPSCO’s parent company, decided its future resources for electricity production would come from renewables. The utility said it would close all of its coal-fired generating stations by 2028, replacing them with energy derived from a mix of wind, solar, natural gas and battery storage options.
According to Politico’s eenews.net, the orders for R.M. Schahfer and F.B. Culley mark the third and fourth times DOE has used its emergency powers this year to prevent coal plants from closing.
“Its first order, in May, went to J.H. Campbell days before the massive plant in Michigan was scheduled to close. The department has extended the 90-day order twice. Then, last week, DOE ordered TransAlta’s Centralia Generating Station in Washington state to stay open, despite years of planning by the company to shutter it this month,” the news site stated.
A statement from Vince Parisi, NIPSCO President and Chief Operating Officer said NIPSCO and NiSource are reviewing the order “for the overall impact to our customers and company. We will comply with this order, and any subsequent orders, if received. We recognize the importance of both reliability and cost management for our customers, and we will continue to engage with federal, state and local stakeholders as we adapt to evolving regulatory requirements.”
NIPSCO’s Michigan City Generating Station is not impacted by this directive and remains scheduled for retirement at the end of 2028, said Alexius D. Barber, NIPSCO Public Affairs & Economic Development Manager.
Utilities cite cheaper operating costs with renewables and with them, a reduction in environmental concerns associated with burning coal. But the shift to cleaner energy production is pushing the U.S. coal mining industry to the background, a position that President Donald Trump says is harmful to the nation’s economy and security.
In April, Trump issued executive orders to show he was keeping his campaign promises to revive the declining coal industry.
The executive orders laid out actions to keep open some coal plants that were set for retirement, allowed coal leasing on public lands to resume and directed the Department of Energy and other federal agencies to assess how electricity from coal-fired power plants can meet rising demand for power from artificial intelligence.
