TechCapsules

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

A U.S. District Court has invalidated the federal government’s emergency order forcing the continued operation of Michigan’s J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant. The ruling, issued on September 11, 2026, by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, declared the Department of Energy’s justification for keeping the aging facility open as fictitious and unlawful. Judge Cornelia Pillard wrote that federal emergency authority under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act is reserved for genuine crises, not for overriding state-managed energy planning. The court found that the DOE grossly overstepped its authority by repeatedly renewing ninety-day emergency orders to prevent the plant’s scheduled retirement. Consumers Energy had planned to replace the 1,420 MW facility with methane, solar, and battery storage, a transition approved by Michigan regulators and grid operator MISO. A coalition including Earthjustice, the Sierra Club, and states of Michigan, Minnesota, and Illinois successfully sued the administration. The decision reinforces that states hold primary responsibility for managing power generation resources.