The Schaeffer Coal Fight: Who Pays, and How Much, Depends on a Federal Court

NIPSCO's Schaeffer Units 17 and 18 in Jasper County, roughly 847 megawatts of combined coal-fired capacity, had already received MISO's sign-off for retirement when the Department of Energy used emergency authority under Section 202(c) to order them kept available beginning December 23, 2025. A second DOE extension through June 21, 2026 followed in March. Operating those units under the initial 90-day orders ran over $20.6 million, with potential costs approaching $34 million if orders continue rolling. NIPSCO asked FERC to spread those costs broadly across the MISO North and Central subregions, an 11-state footprint, and FERC approved that tariff change in March 2026. Attorneys general from Michigan, Illinois, and Minnesota, along with the Organization of MISO States, are now challenging that decision in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. If the court upholds the allocation, Schaeffer costs diffuse across MISO, softening the per-customer hit but adding another line to your long-term cost stack. If the court overturns it, NIPSCO customers in northwestern Indiana absorb more of that burden locally, on top of the roughly 17.75% residential rate increase already approved, and a significantly higher commercial rate increase already in effect.