US EditionThe Trump Administration Just Ordered Another Retiring Coal Plant to Stay Open. It Could Cost Ratepayers Millions
The emergency order keeps Craig Station Unit 1 available through March 2026 amid concerns over grid reliability and potential 100-fold increase in outages by 2030, DOE said.
- On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright issued an emergency order to keep Unit 1 at Craig Station available for 90 days, invoking Section 202 of the Federal Power Act.
- Facing planned retirements and rising demand, the DOE argued Colorado faces a dire energy emergency as Craig Station, Craig, Colorado was set to close end-2025, aligning with President Donald Trump's fossil fuel agenda.
- Analysts and state officials warned that keeping the unit available will raise costs, noting a June Energy Innovation analysis found coal power 28% costlier in 2024, and repairs may burden Colorado rural ratepayers with millions in expenses.
- Colorado regulators and environmental groups including Earthjustice and GreenLatinos challenged the emergency order, citing Colorado Public Utilities Commission findings that Craig Unit 1 is unnecessary and legal risks to air quality.
- The order remains in place through at least March 30, 2026, and the Department of Energy's Resource Adequacy Report warns outages could increase by 100 times if reliable power declines; the administration has used similar orders this year in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Indiana.
55 Articles
55 Articles
Trump Orders Colorado Coal-Fired Power Station to Stay Open
The U.S. Department of Energy has ordered another coal-fired power plant to stay open beyond its retirement date, this time in Colorado. The power plant near Craig, around 200 miles northwest of Denver, received the federal order one day before it was scheduled to close on Wednesday for economic reasons and to comply with numerous state and federal requirements. Keeping the aging plant open will mean additional costs for Tri-State Generation and…
Associated Press News
Trump administration orders a Colorado coal-fired power generator to stay open
The Trump administration has ordered another coal-fired power facility to remain open. This time it's telling the owners of the Craig Station in northwestern Colorado to keep running an electricity-generating unit that was slated for retirement Wednesday.
Trump administration forces coal power plant in northwestern Colorado to continue operating
The Trump administration, saying there is an emergency need for electricity, has ordered Tri-State Generation and Transmission to keep its coal-powered Craig Unit 1 running. The unit was scheduled to close Wednesday. “The emergency conditions resulting from increasing demand and shortage from accelerated retirement of generation facilities … could lead to the loss of power to homes, and businesses,” the U.S. Department of Energy order states. Tr…
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