U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright issued an emergency order that directs Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Platte River Power Authority, Salt River Project, PacifiCorp, and Public Service Company of Colorado, in coordination with the Western Area Power Administration Rocky Mountain Region and Southwest Power Pool, to take all measures necessary to ensure that Unit 1 at the Craig Station in Craig, Colorado is available to operate.
Unit One of the coal plant was scheduled to shut down at the end of 2025 but on December 30, 2025, Secretary Wright issued an emergency order directing Tri-State and the co-owners to ensure that Unit 1 at the Craig Station remains available to operate.
On April 1, once Tri-State and the WAPA Rocky Mountain Region join the SPP RTO West expansion, SPP is directed to take every step to employ economic dispatch to minimize costs to ratepayers, DOE said.
This order is in effect beginning on March 31, 2026, through June 28, 2026.
