Director warns DOE orders keeping J.H. Campbell online could drive regional cost allocation
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Summary
Utility Director Rudy Veil told the board that recent DOE/Federal orders requiring some retiring coal plants to run in 90-day increments have led Consumers Energy to file cost-recovery with FERC; Veil said Coldwater, as part of MISO, could see a modest share of the remaining $40 million balance and urged caution until FERC rules are final.
Utility Director Rudy Veil updated the Coldwater Board of Public Utilities on the status of the J.H. Campbell generating plant and federal actions that could shift costs across the MISO regional footprint.
Veil said the 1,420-megawatt J.H. Campbell coal plant, owned and operated by Consumers Energy and located in West Olive, was approved for decommissioning in 2021 with a planned shutdown in May 2025. After federal executive actions in 2025, the Department of Energy issued orders requiring certain retiring coal plants to continue operating for 90-day periods, with options for additional 90-day extensions; Veil cited orders issued on 05/23/2025, 08/20/2025 and 11/18/2025 as examples.
According to Veil, Consumers Energy reported approximately $120,000,000 in costs to run the plant for the first 90-day period; Consumers recovered about $80,000,000 of that amount through in-region kilowatt-hour sales, leaving an estimated $40,000,000 balance to be reallocated across the entire MISO footprint (which stretches from parts of Canada down to Louisiana). Veil emphasized that MSCPA and Coldwater do not own the plant and do not take generation from it, but because Coldwater is in MISO the jurisdictional mechanism could allocate some cost exposure to local customers. Veil estimated MSCPA’s share at approximately $76,000 (subject to FERC approval of recovery filings) but stressed the figure will not be final until FERC acts.
The board discussed options: petition FERC to challenge cost-recovery or contest the formulas used for allocation, but Veil noted that such processes take time and may ultimately still result in cost exposure to members across MISO. Board members asked about grid reliability claims underlying DOE’s orders; Veil said the models cited supply-and-demand concerns but acknowledged uncertainty about whether shutdown would in fact create instability.
Veil said other plants are in the same federal-run pool and that shutdowns require logistical "un-decommissioning" steps for older units, which can be costly and technically difficult. The board requested additional follow-up information and comparison to prior shutdown experiences.
Next steps: staff will monitor FERC filings and provide updates once the exact cost-recovery methodology and final tallies are clarified.