Since May 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued more than 40 emergency orders and extensions under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act—more than in any comparable period in the past two decades. The orders have fallen into two broad categories: retirement deferrals, which compel utilities and grid operators to keep specific generating units online past their planned shutdown dates, and active emergency dispatches, which authorize or require generators to exceed normal operating or environmental permit limits during acute grid stress events.
grants the Secretary of Energy broad authority to temporarily direct the operation of the U.S. electricity system during emergencies—defined as a sudden increase in electricity demand, a shortage of generation or transmission capacity, or a wartime situation. The authority dates to the FPA’s enactment in 1935 and was transferred to DOE when the department was established in 1977. A 2015 amendment added provisions allowing emergency orders to temporarily override federal, state, and local environmental permit requirements, subject to 90-day renewal limits. From 2000 through June 2025, the DOE exercised the authority in response to 20 events, 11 of them weather-related, according to a published July 1, 2025. The CRS report noted that the Trump administration’s May 2025 orders—which directed delays in the retirements of coal and gas plants in Michigan and Pennsylvania—represented a novel interpretation of the authority. Unlike prior orders, the relevant grid operators had neither requested DOE action nor identified reliability risks specifically tied to those plant retirements at the time they approved them.
As of March 2026, across all orders issued since May 2025, the DOE has stalled the retirement of at least 4.4 GW of coal capacity.
Scorecard — Updated March 17, 2026
| Total orders and extensions since May 2025 | 40 |
| MW currently held open by retirement-deferral orders | ~4.4 GW |
| Plants currently compelled to stay online | 6 |
| Most recent order | No. 202-26-18—TransAlta / Centralia Unit 2 (March 16, 2026) |
| Currently active orders | 8 |
🟢 Active Orders
Orders currently in force. Retirement-deferral orders compel utilities and grid operators to keep specific generating units online past their planned shutdown dates. Ongoing emergency orders authorize generators to exceed normal operating or environmental permit limits. This section is updated as new orders are issued or existing orders are extended or allowed to expire.
Retirement Deferrals
Retirement Deferral — Coal
Active
3rd Extension
J.H. Campbell Generating Station — West Olive, Mich.
Original retirement date: May 31, 2025 | Currently active under through May 18, 2026
| Current order | |
| Issued | Feb. 17, 2026 |
| Expires | May 18, 2026 |
| Recipient | MISO / Consumers Energy |
| Grid region | MISO |
| Capacity | 1,560 MW |
| Fuel | Coal (subbituminous) |
| Units | 3 units; commissioned 1962, 1967, 1980 |
| Original retirement date | May 31, 2025 |
| Order chain | → → → |
| FERC docket |
FERC cost‑recovery proceeding on Consumers’ complaint—see FERC’s Aug. 15, 2025 order accepting tariff revisions and related filings in the J.H. Campbell case as linked from DOE’s . |
| Challenged? |
Yes—Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, and several public interest groups have petitioned the D.C. Circuit to review DOE’s ; opening briefs were filed Dec. 19, 2025, and a related petition challenges FERC’s Aug. 15, 2025, cost‑allocation order referenced in DOE’s . |
Why it matters
Campbell is Michigan’s largest remaining coal plant and a critical baseload resource for the MISO North/Central zone. The DOE’s original May 2025 order cited NERC’s 2025 Summer Reliability Assessment, which warned of an “elevated risk of operating reserve shortfalls” in MISO, combined with the retirement of approximately 2,700 MW of Michigan coal generation since 2020. The plant has now been kept online nearly a full year past its planned closure, making it the longest-running retirement deferral in this series of orders.
Retirement Deferral — Gas/Oil
Active
3rd Extension
Eddystone Generating Station, Units 3 & 4 — Eddystone, Pa.
Original retirement date: May 31, 2025 | Currently active under through May 24, 2026
| Current order | |
| Issued | Feb. 23, 2026 |
| Expires | May 24, 2026 |
| Recipient | PJM / Constellation Energy |
| Grid region | PJM |
| Capacity | 760 MW combined (380 MW each) |
| Fuel | Dual-fuel (natural gas / distillate oil) |
| Units | Unit 3 commissioned 1974; Unit 4 commissioned 1976 |
| Original retirement date | May 31, 2025 |
| Order chain | → → → |
| FERC docket | PJM RAA/tariff cost‑allocation proceeding for Eddystone—PJM’s June 26, 2025 filing and FERC’s Aug. 15, 2025 order accepting revisions, as described in DOE’s —plus a generic PJM RAA filing accepted Dec. 5, 2025 establishing a regionwide 202(c) cost‑allocation framework. |
| Challenged? | Yes—the Illinois Office of Attorney General, Maryland Office of People’s Counsel, New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel and several public‑interest organizations also petitioned the D.C. Circuit in September 2025 to review DOE’s emergency regarding the Eddystone Generating Station, requesting that the court set the order aside, as summarized in DOE’s and the public‑interest . |
Why it matters
Eddystone Units 3 and 4 are dual-fuel steam turbines on the Delaware River just south of Philadelphia—critical dispatchable resources in the densely loaded PJM East zone. PJM itself supported the DOE’s original order, stating it had “repeatedly documented and voiced its concerns over the growing risk of a supply and demand imbalance driven by the confluence of generator retirements and demand growth.” Constellation submitted its deactivation notice to PJM in December 2023, citing economic factors. Like Campbell, the units have now been kept online nearly a full year past their planned closure.
Retirement Deferral — Coal
Active
1st Extension
Centralia Generating Station, Unit 2—Centralia, Wash.
Original retirement date: Dec. 31, 2025 | Currently active under through June 14, 2026
| Current order | |
| Issued | March 16, 2026 |
| Expires | June 14, 2026 |
| Recipient | TransAlta Centralia Generation LLC |
| Grid region | WECC (Pacific Northwest) |
| Capacity | ~730 MW |
| Fuel | Coal |
| Original retirement date | Dec. 31, 2025 |
| Order chain | → |
| FERC docket | |
| Challenged? |
Why it matters
Centralia Unit 2 is Washington state’s last coal-fired power plant, scheduled to close under state law SB 5769. Its continued operation under federal order puts the DOE on a direct collision course with Washington state energy policy—a legal and political flashpoint that sets this order apart from the MISO and PJM cases.
Retirement Deferral — Coal
Active
Craig Station, Unit 1—Craig, Colo.
Original retirement date: Dec. 31, 2025 | Currently active under through March 30, 2026
| Current order | |
| Issued | Dec. 30, 2025 |
| Expires | March 30, 2026 |
| Recipient | Tri-State G&T / Platte River Power Authority / Salt River Project / PacifiCorp / Xcel Energy / WAPA Rocky Mountain Region / SPP West |
| Grid region | WECC (Mountain West) |
| Capacity | ~446 MW |
| Fuel | Coal |
| Original retirement date | Dec. 31, 2025 |
| FERC docket | |
| Challenged? |
Why it matters
Craig Unit 1’s retirement was tied to a 2016 Colorado regional haze State Implementation Plan—making this another case of a federal emergency order overriding a state environmental commitment. The order is notable for its breadth of recipients: five co-owners plus two grid operators, reflecting Craig’s role as a shared regional resource across the Mountain West.
Retirement Deferral — Coal
Active
Schahfer Generating Station, Units 17 & 18 — Wheatfield, Ind.
Original retirement date: Dec. 31, 2025 | Currently active under through March 23, 2026
| Current order | |
| Issued | Dec. 23, 2025 |
| Expires | March 23, 2026 |
| Recipient | NIPSCO / MISO |
| Grid region | MISO |
| Capacity | ~847 MW combined |
| Fuel | Coal |
| Units | Unit 17 commissioned 1983; Unit 18 commissioned 1986 |
| Original retirement date | Dec. 31, 2025 |
| FERC docket | [update when filed] |
| Challenged? | [update] |
Why it matters
Schahfer Units 17 and 18 represent the largest single block of capacity frozen by a retirement-deferral order after Campbell. NIPSCO had planned to cease coal combustion at the plant by year-end 2025 as part of its long-term transition plan, which included significant investment in renewables and storage. The order effectively halts that transition plan mid-execution.
Retirement Deferral — Coal
Active
F.B. Culley Generating Station, Unit 2—Warrick County, Ind.
Original retirement date: Dec. 2025 | Currently active under through March 23, 2026
| Current order | |
| Issued | Dec. 23, 2025 |
| Expires | March 23, 2026 |
| Recipient | CenterPoint Energy / MISO |
| Grid region | MISO |
| Capacity | ~103 MW |
| Fuel | Coal |
| Unit commissioned | 1966 |
| Original retirement date | Dec. 2025 |
| FERC docket | [update when filed] |
| Challenged? | [update] |
Why it matters
At 103 MW and nearly 60 years old, Culley Unit 2 is the smallest and oldest plant currently under a retirement-deferral order. Its inclusion signals that the DOE is willing to intervene for relatively modest capacity increments when regional reserve margins are tight—a precedent that could affect dozens of similar aging units across MISO.
Active Emergency — Ongoing
Active Emergency — Capacity/Reliability
Active
3rd Extension
Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA)
Original orders issued May 16, 2025 | Currently active under through May 11, 2026
| Current orders | |
| Issued | Feb. 10, 2026 |
| Expires | May 11, 2026 |
| Recipient | PREPA |
| Grid region | Puerto Rico |
| Order chain | → → → |
| FERC docket | N/A |
| Challenged? | No |
Why it matters
The PREPA orders were the first in this series, issued May 16, 2025, following a full island-wide blackout and DOE warnings of up to 135 days of potential forced load shedding. Order No. 202-25-1 directs PREPA to dispatch fossil generation units necessary to maintain grid reliability and close the generation gap. Order No. 202-25-2 directs PREPA to perform vegetation management along key transmission corridors. Now in their third extension, the orders have been continuously in effect for 10 months—the longest-running 202(c) emergency in this series.
⚫ Expired Orders
Orders that have expired and were not extended. Orders for an active extension chain are documented in the order chain field of each active card listed above.
Retirement Deferrals—No Active Extension
| Order | Plant / Recipient | Region | Capacity | Issued | Expired | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centralia Station Unit 2 — TransAlta Centralia, Wash. — extended; see active orders |
WECC | ~730 MW | Dec. 16, 2025 | March 16, 2026 | Extended | |
| Craig Station Unit 1 — Tri-State G&T et al. Craig, Colo. |
WECC | ~446 MW | Dec. 30, 2025 | March 30, 2026 | No extension issued | |
| Schahfer Station Units 17 & 18 — NIPSCO / MISO Wheatfield, Ind. |
MISO | ~847 MW | Dec. 23, 2025 | March 23, 2026 | No extension issued | |
| F.B. Culley Station Unit 2 — CenterPoint / MISO Warrick County, Ind. |
MISO | ~103 MW | Dec. 23, 2025 | March 23, 2026 | No extension issued |
Active Emergency Dispatches — Expired
Expired
January 2026 Cold Weather Emergency
A series of orders issued Jan. 24–31, 2026, across ERCOT, PJM, ISO-NE, NYISO, Duke Energy (Carolinas and Florida), FMPA, OUC, Lakeland Electric, and HPS Energy in response to extreme cold weather. All orders expired by Feb. 14, 2026.
| Order | Recipient | Region | Authorization | Issued | Expired |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ERCOT | ERCOT | Data center backup gen, EEA 3 | Jan. 24, 2026 | Jan. 27, 2026 | |
| PJM | PJM | All units, max output, permit waiver | Jan. 25, 2026 | Jan. 31, 2026 | |
| ISO-NE | ISO-NE | All units, max output, permit waiver | Jan. 25, 2026 | Jan. 31, 2026 | |
| ERCOT | ERCOT | Specified resources, as-needed dispatch | Jan. 25, 2026 | Jan. 27, 2026 | |
| Duke Energy | SERC | All Duke units, max output, permit waiver | Jan. 26, 2026 | Jan. 30, 2026 | |
| PJM | PJM | Data center backup gen, EEA 3 | Jan. 26, 2026 | Jan. 31, 2026 | |
| Duke Energy Carolinas / Duke Energy Progress | SERC | Data center backup gen, EEA 3 | Jan. 26, 2026 | Jan. 30, 2026 | |
| NYISO | NYISO | All units, max output, permit waiver | Jan. 26, 2026 | Feb. 2, 2026 | |
| HPS Energy | Florida (FRCC) | All units, max output, permit waiver | Jan. 30, 2026 | Feb. 3, 2026 | |
| Duke Energy (ext.) | SERC | All Duke units, max output, permit waiver | Jan. 29, 2026 | Feb. 3, 2026 | |
| PJM (ext.) | PJM | Data center backup gen, EEA 3 | Jan. 29, 2026 | Feb. 2, 2026 | |
| PJM (ext.) | PJM | All units, max output, permit waiver | Jan. 29, 2026 | Feb. 2, 2026 | |
| Duke Energy Florida | Florida (FRCC) | All units, max output, permit waiver | Jan. 31, 2026 | Feb. 3, 2026 | |
| OUC | Florida (FRCC) | All units, max output, permit waiver | Jan. 31, 2026 | Feb. 6, 2026 | |
| FMPA | Florida (FRCC) | All units, max output, permit waiver | Jan. 31, 2026 | Feb. 3, 2026 | |
| FMPA | Florida (FRCC) | Backup units, max output, permit waiver | Jan. 31, 2026 | Feb. 3, 2026 | |
| Lakeland Electric | Florida (FRCC) | Specified resources, as-needed dispatch | Jan. 31, 2026 | Feb. 6, 2026 | |
| OUC | Florida (FRCC) | Backup units, max output, permit waiver | Jan. 31, 2026 | Feb. 6, 2026 | |
| Duke Energy Carolinas / Duke Energy Progress (ext.) | SERC | Data center backup gen, EEA 3 | Jan. 30, 2026 | Feb. 3, 2026 | |
| ISO-NE (ext.) | ISO-NE | All units, max output, permit waiver | Jan. 30, 2026 | Feb. 14, 2026 |
Expired
Wagner Generating Station, Unit 4 — PJM / Talen Energy
PJM | Two orders authorized Talen Energy to operate Wagner Unit 4 beyond its environmental run-hour limits. Both expired Dec. 31, 2025.
| Order | Type | Issued | In Effect | Expired |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original | July 28, 2025 | July 28, 2025 | Oct. 26, 2025 | |
| Extension | Oct. 24, 2025 | Oct. 26, 2025 | Dec. 31, 2025 |
Expired
Duke Energy Carolinas — June 2025 Heat Emergency
SERC | Issued June 24, 2025, due to extreme weather conditions threatening grid reliability in the Duke Energy Carolinas service area. Expired without extension.
| Order | Recipient | Authorization | Issued | Expired |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke Energy Carolinas | Specified units, max output, permit waiver | June 24, 2025 | June 25, 2025 |
—Sonal C. Patel is a POWER senior editor (, ).
Editor’s Note: This is a living resource tracking every Section 202(c) emergency order issued by the Department of Energy since May 2025. The piece is updated as new orders are issued and as existing orders are extended or expire. Order details are sourced directly from DOE’s CESER office. Readers who identify errors or omissions are encouraged to contact the editors.
Last updated March 17, 2026.
