U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright on March 23 issued emergency orders to keep two Indiana coal plants operational.
The orders direct the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), CenterPoint Energy, and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (MISO) to take all measures necessary to ensure specified generation units at both the R.M. Schahfer and F.B. Culley generating stations in Indiana are available to operate.
Certain generation units at the coal plants were scheduled to shut down at the end of 2025.
The reliable supply of power from these two coal plants was essential in powering the grid during recent extreme winter weather. From January 23–February 1, Schahfer operated at over 285 megawatts (MW) every day and Culley operated at approximately 30 MW almost every day. These operations serve as a reminder that allowing reliable generation to go offline would unnecessarily contribute to grid reliability risks, DOE said.
Since the Department of Energy’s (DOE) original orders were issued on December 23, 2025, the coal plants have proven critical to MISO’s operations, operating during periods of high energy demand and low levels of intermittent energy production, it said.
These orders are in effect beginning on March 24, 2026, through June 21, 2026.
