The federal government renewed its emergency coal order for the fourth consecutive quarter (for units currently offline) nine days after a federal appeals court ruled an identical order unlawful. At the same time, a French developer is asking a small Indiana city to approve a $7.5 billion AI campus that would draw 475 megawatts from the same stressed grid. And $200 billion in hyperscale capital has already migrated from Illinois into Indiana, pushing NIPSCO residential rates up 26.7% in a single year. Three proceedings close within 90 days. Here is what Indiana plant leaders need to know before they do.

NIPSCO Schahfer and CenterPoint Culley: What the Fourth DOE Order Actually Means for Your Bill

On September 20th, Energy Secretary Chris Wright signed the fourth consecutive Section 202(c) emergency directive requiring NIPSCO's Schahfer Units 17 and 18 in Wheatfield (combined roughly 847 megawatts) and CenterPoint's Culley Unit 2 in Warrick County to remain operationally available through December 18, 2026.

The problem buried in NIPSCO's own compliance filing: Units 17 and 18 are currently offline for significant turbine and boiler work. The DOE is invoking emergency reliability authority for units that cannot physically generate power right now.

Nine days before this renewal, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated an identical order for Michigan's J.H. Campbell plant, ruling the DOE usurped state authority and that Section 202(c) was designed for short-term crisis response, not extended retirement delays. Legal challengers argue the same theory applies to the Indiana orders. That question is not yet resolved, but any challenge filed before December 18th puts it squarely in play.

On cost: NIPSCO's own FERC cost recovery filing puts Q1 2026 alone at $38 million (roughly $420,000 per day) with total projected costs potentially exceeding $100 million, socialized across MISO's industrial ratepayer base. That includes your facility if NIPSCO serves it. The Sierra Club estimates roughly $174,000 per day in ratepayer costs; NIPSCO has not confirmed that figure and its methodology has not been publicly disclosed.

December 18th is not a conclusion. It is a legal and financial checkpoint. Get someone modeling your MISO capacity cost exposure before that date.

For context on how NIPSCO's cost recovery process works and what it means for your bill, see the TEG Daily from September 21: Indiana Semiconductor Fab Delay, NWI Coal Surcharge & Semiconductor Workforce Gap.

DataOne's $7.5 Billion Frankfort AI Factory: What the September 28 Council Vote Won't Answer

DataOne, a French-based data center developer founded in November 2024, is asking the Frankfort Common Council to approve a $7.5 billion AI campus at the Logix Innovation Campus in Clinton County at a special meeting on September 28th. The facility would draw 350 megawatts through IMPA (the Indiana Municipal Power Agency) plus 175 megawatts from on-site Bloom Energy fuel cells, for a combined load of 475 megawatts.

DataOne's CEO has said the company will fund two new substations and cover all infrastructure costs.

Here is what the September 28th vote will not answer. DataOne has only 15 megawatts of operational capacity globally across two French campuses. It is backed by a debt fund, not equity. No anchor tenant, no offtake agreement, and no construction financing have been publicly disclosed. That 350-megawatt IMPA commitment is a single load addition with no known IMPA precedent.

If you are an IMPA-served manufacturer, the time to understand what this does to your wholesale power costs is before the council votes, not after. Ask your energy manager or advisor what a 350-megawatt load addition means for your IMPA rate structure.

For background on how large new loads are allocated across existing ratepayers, see Utility Cost Allocation for Data Centers: How Indiana Manufacturers Avoid Paying for Grid Buildout They Didn't Cause.

$200 Billion From Illinois to Indiana: How Data Center Migration Is Raising Your MISO Costs

Andy Cvengros, Executive Managing Director and Co-Lead of JLL's U.S. Data Center Markets team, told RE Journals that at least $200 billion in data center projects originally planned for Illinois have been built elsewhere, with northwest and northeast Indiana among the primary landing zones. JLL's midyear 2026 North America report tracks northern Indiana at 1,206 megawatts of existing and under-construction capacity. Cvengros noted that market "did not exist two years ago."

The structural drivers: Illinois' BIPA liability exposure, ComEd's higher deposit requirements, and a July 1st pause in Illinois' data center incentive program.

Here is the cost dynamic Indiana plant leaders are not yet pricing in. NIPSCO's average residential bills rose 26.7% in the twelve months ending July 2025 (the highest increase of any Indiana utility) driven substantially by data center load growth. PJM capacity auction prices rose $9.3 billion in the 2025-26 auction cycle for the same reason, and MISO Zone 6 has seen directional pressure consistent with that trend.

Named manufacturers, U.S. Steel and NLMK Indiana, are already parties in the NIPSCO rate case. The IURC has opened a sub-docket to consider a large-load tariff for hyperscale customers. If that tariff is finalized on terms similar to what has been proposed, it narrows, but does not eliminate, Indiana's cost advantage over Illinois, because BIPA liability and the Illinois incentive pause are structural factors a tariff alone does not resolve.

Use PJM's $9.3 billion auction swing as a directional reference when stress-testing your 2027 and 2028 energy budgets. The timing and magnitude of any MISO impact depend on final tariff design, but the direction of travel is not ambiguous.

For more on the IURC large-load tariff proceedings and what Indiana manufacturers should be tracking, see GenCo Appeal Puts the NIPSCO Rate Increase Path Back in Front of Indiana Manufacturers.

Questions for Your Morning Huddle

Q: What does the December 18th DOE coal order expiration mean for my electricity costs as an Indiana manufacturer?

A: December 18th is a legal and financial checkpoint, not a resolution. If a court challenge succeeds before that date (using the same theory that struck the Michigan order) the orders could be vacated mid-term, with uncertain consequences for MISO grid reliability and cost recovery. If DOE renews again, NIPSCO's $38 million Q1 cost recovery filing signals costs could exceed $100 million total, socialized across MISO industrial ratepayers including your facility. Model your MISO capacity charge exposure now, before the deadline forces the question.

Q: How does the DataOne Frankfort AI campus affect IMPA-served Indiana manufacturers?

A: If DataOne's 350-megawatt load addition proceeds, it would be the largest single load IMPA has ever taken on, with no disclosed anchor tenant, offtake agreement, or construction financing to confirm the project is real. If the load materializes, your wholesale power cost through IMPA will be repriced. If it does not (because financing falls through) the September 28th vote will have consumed political and utility planning capacity without delivering a ratepayer outcome. Either scenario has cost implications. Get your IMPA rate structure in front of someone who can model the addition before the vote.

Q: Why did NIPSCO residential rates rise 26.7%, and what does that signal for industrial customers in northern Indiana?

A: Data center load growth in northern Indiana is the primary driver. A residential rate increase of that magnitude in a single year reflects grid infrastructure investment being recovered from the existing ratepayer base (including industrial customers) while the new large loads that drove the investment are still moving through the rate case and tariff process. The IURC large-load tariff sub-docket is meant to address this, but it has not closed. Until it does, you are exposed to continued cost allocation pressure. Audit your current NIPSCO bill for MISO capacity charges and tracker line items before Q1 planning closes.

Indiana's grid is being pulled in three directions simultaneously: by federal coal orders courts are striking down, by hyperscale AI campuses adding hundreds of megawatts of new demand, and by a rate and tariff environment repricing power faster than most manufacturers have modeled.

Three proceedings resolve within 90 days: the December 18th DOE order expiry, the September 28th Frankfort council vote, and the IURC large-load tariff sub-docket. Audit your MISO capacity charge exposure on your current bill. Map what a DataOne-scale IMPA load addition does to your wholesale rate. Get your 2027 and 2028 energy budgets in front of someone who can model a material capacity price increase before Q1 planning closes.

If you are an Indiana C&I operator who wants a structured look at your energy cost exposure heading into 2027, start with the TEG Energy Decision Blueprint.