Manufacturing News
June 25, 2026
June 25, 2026 · Statewide · Story 3 of 4
NIPSCO Schahfer Coal Order Extended Again, Amazon Delivery Deadline Now at Risk
Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued a second renewal of the Section 202(c) emergency order on June 19, requiring NIPSCO to keep its R.M. Schahfer Generating Station in Wheatfield operating through September 19. Coal units 17 and 18 are both offline for significant turbine and boiler repairs. Representative Frank Mrvan cited NIPSCO's own estimate of $11.5 million in losses to maintain the station while those repairs continue.
The harder issue is the construction sequencing conflict at that same site. NiSource has a contractual obligation to begin delivering power to the $7 billion AWS campus on January 1, 2027. If rolling 90-day DOE extensions push past that deadline, Amazon reportedly retains an option to reduce contracted capacity, reported in the range of 1,200 MW, with an exercise window into early 2029. If those terms are accurate and that reduction materializes, it removes the primary economic anchor for Northwest Indiana's long-term industrial power cost trajectory. Watch September 19.
- For the huddle
What does the NIPSCO Schahfer coal plant extension mean for Northwest Indiana power costs?
NIPSCO is spending capital maintaining units that aren't running while facing a hard January 1, 2027 Amazon power delivery deadline. If that deadline slips and Amazon exercises a reported capacity reduction option, the long-term cost trajectory for industrial power in Northwest Indiana changes materially. Build a contingency scenario before September 19.
From the brief, June 25, 2026
- IURC Gets a New Chairman, Who Can't Vote on the Two Cases That Triggered the Change
- Duke Energy Indiana $89M Overcharge: What the "Refinement" Footnote Actually Did
- NIPSCO Schahfer Coal Order Extended Again, Amazon Delivery Deadline Now at Risk
- Indiana May Jobs Report: The Construction Surge Is a 2027-2028 Hiring Wave Warning
Related
- AES Indiana Rate Deadline September 5: What Indiana Manufacturers Need to Model Before the IURC Vote
- NIPSCO's Schahfer Coal Plant Costs Indiana Manufacturers $174,000 a Day While Plymouth Chases Innovation Dollars and Nucor Expands
- Indiana Industrial Property Tax Increase Hits 25.8% as Nuclear Ready Program Opens and NIPSCO's Schahfer Fight Escalates
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