Manufacturing News
April 30, 2026
April 30, 2026 · Statewide · Story 3 of 3
DOE Emergency Orders Are Keeping Aging Coal Plants Online, and the Costs Are Landing Somewhere
On December 23, 2025, DOE Secretary Chris Wright issued emergency orders under Section 202(c) directing NIPSCO and CenterPoint, along with MISO, to keep Schaeffer Units 17 and 18 in Wheatfield and Culley Unit 2 in Warwick County operating past their planned December 31 retirement dates. Those orders were extended March 23, 2026 and run through at least June 21, 2026. Nationally, DOE emergency orders have paused or delayed at least 4.4 gigawatts of coal retirements.
The cost of keeping these plants online is not speculative. Analysis prepared for public interest groups estimates Schaeffer is running about $174,000 per day in extended operating costs; Culley adds roughly $21,000 more. Schaeffer Unit 18 has been offline since July 2025 due to a damaged turbine, NIPSCO has told regulators it could take six months or more to restore. NIPSCO has already filed at FERC seeking a MISO tariff mechanism to spread those costs across the broader grid. Attorneys general in Minnesota and Illinois have filed legal challenges arguing DOE overstepped. How that legal fight resolves determines how much of that daily cost lands on your tariff. C&I customers typically absorb a disproportionate share of these cost allocations compared to large industrial customers and residential ratepayers.
For your morning huddle
- Q
What's our financial exposure to the DOE emergency orders at Schaeffer and Culley, and how does that cost reach our bills?
Schaeffer is running about $174,000 per day in extended operating costs; Culley adds roughly $21,000 more. NIPSCO is seeking FERC approval to spread those costs across MISO. C&I customers typically absorb a disproportionate share of these allocations, and your energy budget scenarios should account for this exposure before the next rate case decision is issued.
From the brief, April 30, 2026
- Indiana's Generation Mix and Mammoth Solar: What's Actually Being Built
- Duke Energy Indiana's $103 Billion Capital Plan Is Already in Your Bills
- DOE Emergency Orders Are Keeping Aging Coal Plants Online, and the Costs Are Landing Somewhere
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