OTTAWA COUNTY, MI - Michigan’s second largest electric utility lost more than $600,000 a day keeping a sprawling coal power plant online months past its intended shutdown date in 2025 under orders from the Trump administration.
Consumers Energy is now seeking approval from federal regulators to pass nearly $42 million in net costs for running the J.H. Campbell plant on Lake Michigan on to utility customers across the Midwest via their power bills.
“We expect costs to operate the Campbell plant will be shared by customers across the Midwest electric grid region – not solely by Consumers Energy customers," said utility spokesperson Brian Wheeler in a statement, referencing a prior decision from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC.
In total, three emergency orders from President Donald Trump’s Energy Secretary Chris Wright have kept the coal burning at Campbell in Ottawa County for more than eight months after it was slated to go cold and dark.
The Trump administration has instituted a slew of measures to support coal, a costly and polluting source of energy that had been in a long decline nationally until a slight rebound in 2025. That includes easing environmental regulations for coal plants.
The initial May 2025 order keeping Campbell open has proved to be a playbook for federal energy officials. The Energy Department has since used their emergency powers to keep four other coal plants in Washington, Colorado and Indiana open.
Before Trump’s second term, the orders had largely been issued during natural disasters like hurricanes and mainly for short periods.