This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at cpr.org.
The U.S. Department of Energy issued an emergency order late Tuesday to keep an aging Colorado coal plant open, just one day before it was slated to close.
The plant — Unit 1, part of Craig Station, in Moffat County — is now required to keep running until March 30, 2026. The order can also be extended.
The move drew a furious response from the governor’s office and environmental groups, who contest whether an emergency even exists that would require the plant to stay open.
Governor Polis said the order would lead to a huge spike in costs to repair the plant, which may be borne by customers of Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, a cooperative operating the plant to deliver electricity to rural communities in Nebraska, New Mexico, Wyoming and Colorado.
“This order will pass tens of millions in costs to Colorado ratepayers, in order to keep a coal plant open that is broken and not needed,” Polis said in a statement.
“Ludicrously, the coal plant isn’t even operational right now, meaning repairs — to the tune of millions of dollars — just to get it running, all on the backs of rural Colorado ratepayers!”
CPR could not immediately confirm whether the plant is broken. Tri-State, which operates the plant but co-owns it with other utility companies, did not immediately return a request for comment.
Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright invoked Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act to keep the plant open. The law allows the federal government to order power plants to stay open during emergencies — like during times of war, in the aftermath of disasters or when there’s a shortage of electricity.
But this year, the Trump administration has repeatedly used the law to keep the lights on at plants in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana and other states.
In its order, the DOE said Colorado is on the verge of facing a dire energy emergency, because of the retirement of power plants and a spike in electricity demand.
Losing Craig Unit 1 could lead to a “loss of power to homes, and businesses in the areas that may be affected by curtailments or power outages, presenting a risk to public health and safety,” according to the order.
The environmental group Earthjustice said in a statement that the order was illegal and the DOE’s claims are unsupported. It has already sued the Trump administration over other emergency orders to keep coal plants open.
“This unlawful order will benefit no one but the struggling coal industry,” said Michael Hiatt, deputy managing attorney with Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain Office. “We are prepared to take action to defend Colorado communities and ensure a just transition.”
Keeping coal plants open can be expensive, because it often disrupts years of planning by regulators and utility companies.
One analysis by the firm Grid Strategies, prepared for the Sierra Club, found it could cost around $85 million to run Craig 1 for a year at its average output. Those costs may be passed onto customers in the form of higher bills.
The plan to close Unit 1 has been in the works for years, and is part of Colorado’s push to phase out coal plants. While the DOE’s order may have upended those plans, it’s hardly a surprise.
Tri-State has said it has been expecting the order for months.
This is a developing news story and will be updated.
