The U.S. Department of Energy on Tuesday ordered TransAlta, a Canadian independent power producer based in Calgary, to continue running its 730-MW, coal-fired Centralia Unit 2 in Washington past its planned retirement at the end of this month.
The DOE has issued a series of similar orders under the Federal Power Act section 202(c) to keep two power plants in Michigan and Pennsylvania from retiring as planned.
Lawsuits are pending in federal court to overturn those orders, which affect Consumer Energy’s majority-owned coal-fired 1,420-MW J.H. Campbell power plant in West Olive, Michigan, and Constellation Energy’s two 380-MW gas- and oil-fired units at its Eddystone power plant near Philadelphia. In part, the suits say DOE failed to show there are emergencies affecting the power systems in the Upper Midwest or the Mid-Atlantic region.
The reliability impacts of retiring the Campbell and Eddystone units was vetted by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator and the PJM Interconnection, respectively, before the grid operators approved the shutdowns.
Under the 90-day emergency order, Wright ordered the Centralia unit to remain running until March 16, 2026. It should operate at the direction of either the Bonneville Power Administration — in its role as a balancing authority — or the California Independent System Operator — in its role as reliability coordinator for the region, Wright said.
The plan to retire the Centralia power plant — Washington’s last coal-fired power plant — is enshrined in a state law based on SB 5769. TransAlta retired its 670-MW Centralia Unit 1 in 2020.
TransAlta has been selling electricity from the power plant through long-term contracts and on a merchant basis, according to the company’s financial filings.
It is unclear who will pay TransAlta to keep the Centralia plant running. Consumers Energy and Constellation will be paid through charges imposed by MISO and PJM on loads on their systems. The Northwest lacks a regional transmission organization and TransAlta lacks retail customers.