On April 2, 2026, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul sued Energy Secretary Christ Wright, and the United States Department of Energy challenging unlawful “emergency orders” issued by Secretary Chris Wright that would halt the retirement of costly coal units at Indiana power plant F.B. Culley (Culley). Secretary Wright issued the order in December of 2025, and the order was extended March 23 and would require the midwestern electricity grid operator, Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), to work with the CenterPoint Energy (CenterPoint), the owner of the Culley generating station, to ensure the plant remains available for operation despite needing significant and expensive maintenance to do so. 

Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act gives the DOE secretary authority to take temporary control of the nation’s electricity system during emergency situations. Until now, that authority has predominantly been invoked during wartime or natural disasters. According to Attorneys General Ellison and Raoul, the orders declare an emergency based on an alleged shortage of electric energy generation when no evidence of a shortage exists. Even if an emergency existed, the attorneys general argue, the orders impose several requirements that are inconsistent with and exceed the DOE’s legal authority. 

The plant was slated for retirement due to its age, inefficiency, and need for upkeep and repair. The units experienced deferred maintenance leading up to their planned retirement, and they require significant overhauls and upkeep costs to continue running. Plus, they had spent down their fuel in the run-up to retirement. By ordering the grid operator and the plant owners to take all necessary steps to make the coal plants available to produce electricity, the plants will have to run continually.  This requires significant maintenance and fuel costs, which will be passed along to ratepayers. Additionally, coal-fired power plants create particulate matter pollution and greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. Extending the operations of the plant beyond its planned retirement date increases the amount of pollution emitted in the region, harming the public’s health and welfare.   

The Trump administration’s orders represent yet another policy intended to take our nation backwards by undoing years of progress states have made toward clean, renewable energy sources – regardless of the impact on ratepayers and the environment. There was and continues to be no energy emergency to justify the administration’s unlawful ‘emergency’ orders. And there is certainly no evidence that justifies a need to rely on outdated, inefficient coal plants that were slated for closure. These actions threaten to undermine the clean energy solutions that our states are developing. I am proud to stand with my colleagues to oppose this unlawful overreach by the Department of Energy.Attorney General Kwame Raoul

It makes no sense for the federal government to force old, out-of-date, expensive, and polluting coal plants to continue operating far past when they were supposed to shut down. This is not an issue of affordability versus sustainability. Continuing to operate these plants will ultimately raise energy costs for ratepayers, which is why the state of Indiana, which is not exactly a bastion of progressive environmental policy, was working to retire them. In addition to this being foolish from an economic and environmental standpoint, Donald Trump doesn’t even have the legal authority to order these plans to continue operating. I’m suing to stop this unlawful action and prevent the Trump administration from raising Minnesotans’ energy costs and increasing pollution that leads to climate change.Attorney General Keith Ellison