The J.H. Campbell coal plant in Port Sheldon Township is still running, a month after a federal appeals court ruled that the government had no legal grounds for the first emergency order keeping it open. The plant now runs under a sixth order that expires Nov. 14, and the government has extended every order so far.
Consumers Energy planned to retire Campbell on May 31, 2025, under a plan state regulators approved in 2022. Eight days before that date, the U.S. Department of Energy ordered the plant to keep running, citing a grid emergency, and it has renewed the order every 90 days since.
On Sept. 11, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously threw out the first order, ruling that DOE overstepped its emergency powers. Judge Cornelia Pillard called that power "essentially a narrow, last-resort backstop." The ruling covered only the first order, and Consumers says the plant will keep operating under the current one.
DOE says the orders kept the lights on, including during winter storms in January and February. MISO, the regional grid operator, found in its 2026 capacity auction that it had enough power to meet demand through spring 2027.
Who pays
Keeping Campbell open has cost Consumers $259 million through June 30, after the $239 million it earned selling the plant's power. Federal regulators let Consumers spread those costs across electric customers in 11 states and a Canadian province. Attorney General Dana Nessel is fighting that, arguing that if the orders are illegal, so is billing customers for them.
What to watch before Nov. 14
- Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois and a coalition of environmental groups led by the Sierra Club have asked DOE to rehear and pause the sixth order. The filings are on DOE's page for the order.
- DOE can still ask the full appeals court or the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Sept. 11 ruling.
- DOE could issue a seventh order. It has renewed every earlier order before it expired.
What closing means here
Consumers executive Shaun Johnson told Ottawa News Network the company will close the plant once the federal orders end, and that dismantling it and restoring the site will take about five years. About 200 people worked at Campbell in 2024, and Consumers offered all of them jobs elsewhere in the company.
The plant has supplied about 9.45% of Port Sheldon Township's general fund revenue. Township Supervisor Michael Sabatino expects little effect from the closure, because new homes are making up the difference in taxable value.
Consumers' approved plan to replace Campbell's power includes the 1,200-megawatt Covert natural gas plant in Van Buren County, which the utility bought in 2023, plus new solar and battery storage.
