U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright issued an emergency order that directs the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), in coordination with Consumers Energy, to ensure that the J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant in West Olive, Michigan remains available for operation.
The Campbell Plant was scheduled to shut down on May 31, 2025 — 15 years before the end of its scheduled design life, DOE said on Nov. 19.
Since the Department of Energy’s (DOE) original order issued on May 23, 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. A subsequent order was issued on August 20, 2025.
The emergency conditions that led to the issuance of the original orders persist, DOE said.
It said MISO’s service area will continue to face emergency conditions both in the near and long term. Two recent winter studies (2024 – 2025 NERC Winter Reliability Assessment and the 2023 – 2024 NERC Winter Reliability Assessment) have assessed the MISO assessment area as an elevated risk, with the “potential for insufficient operating reserves in above-normal conditions,” DOE said.
This order is in effect beginning on November 19, 2025, and continuing until February 17, 2026.
