U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright recently issued an emergency order directing the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO), in coordination with Consumers Energy, to ensure that the 1,420-megawatt (MW) J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant in West Olive, Michigan is available to operate "and to employ economic dispatch to minimize costs for American families and businesses."
The Campbell Plant was originally scheduled to shut down on May 31, 2025, 15 years before the end of its scheduled design life.
Since the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE)original order issued in May 2205, the Campbell Plant has proven critical to MISO's operations, operating regularly during periods of high energy demand and low levels of intermittent energy production, DOE said.
Subsequent orders were issued throughout 2025 and 2026. This order is in effect beginning on August 17, 2026, through November 14, 2026.
In January 2026, North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) released its 2025 Long-Term Reliability Assessment. NERC assessed that the MISO region is at high risk of energy shortfalls over the next five years, stating that it faces significant reliability challenges as "projected resource additions do not keep pace with escalating demand forecasts and announced generator retirements."
NERC released its 2026 State of Reliability (SOR) on June 4, 2026. In its technical discussion of major system events, NERC states "shoulder reasons have become increasingly challenging for bulk power system operators to manage, resulting in several recent instances of pre-contingent load shedding."
