Trump Administration Defends Authority to Keep Coal Plants Open

The Trump administration on Friday defended its legal authority to order coal plants to stay open. Lawyers told a panel of federal judges that the energy secretary alone has the power to decide whether an energy emergency exists. The case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit focuses on the J.H. Campbell power plant on the banks of Lake Michigan.

It is the first of six aging coal and oil plants that the Department of Energy has blocked from planned retirement. The precedent set by the case could affect how electricity resources are regulated nationwide. Michigan and environmental groups argue that the Department of Energy has set aside the procedures and safeguards of the Federal Power Act, a 91-year-old law that assigns utilities, states and regional planning authorities the role of deciding whether electricity resources are adequate with public input.

>"The department’s claim of authority here is unprecedented," said Lucas Wollenzien, assistant attorney general for Michigan. " — Lucas Wollenzien (Inside Climate News) The Trump administration's lawyer maintained that emergency authority written into the law gives the energy secretary broad power.

The secretary is not required to wait for a blackout before invoking those powers, the lawyer said. "Congress delegated sole discretion to the secretary to determine how much risk is too much risk, how much of a shortage is too short," said Robert Stander, deputy assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice.

Background on the Dispute The Federal Power Act spells out the roles of utilities, states and regional planning authorities in resource adequacy decisions. Michigan officials say the Department of Energy has bypassed those established processes in this instance.

The J.H. Campbell plant sits on the shores of Lake Michigan and was scheduled for retirement. The department's action to keep it open is being challenged in court as exceeding statutory bounds.