Energy Secretary Ensures Indiana Coal Plants Remain Open to Prevent Blackouts in Midwest

Emergency orders address critical grid reliability issues, lowering risk of blackouts and ensuring affordable electricity access.

WASHINGTON-U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright today issued emergency orders to keep two Indiana coal plants operational to ensure Americans in the Midwest region of the United States have access to affordable, reliable, and secure electricity heading into the winter months. The orders direct CenterPoint Energy, the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (MISO) to take all measures necessary to ensure specified generation units at both the F.B. Culley and R.M. Schahfer generating stations in Indiana are available to operate. Certain generation units of the coal plants were scheduled to shut down at the end of 2025. The reliable supply of power from these coal plants is essential for keeping the region's electric grid stable. The orders prioritize minimizing electricity costs for the American people and minimizing the risk and costs of blackouts.

"The Trump Administration remains committed to swiftly deploying all available tools and authorities to safeguard the reliability, affordability, and security of the nation's energy system," said Secretary Wright. "Keeping these coal plants online has the potential to save lives and is just common sense. Americans deserve reliable power regardless of whether the wind is blowing or the sun is shining during extreme winter conditions."

As outlined in DOE's Resource Adequacy Report, power outages could increase by 100 times in 2030 if the U.S. continues to take reliable power offline.

Both MISO and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) have also highlighted reliability risks facing the region. In MISO's 2024 Reliability Imperative Report, its Chief Executive Officer warned that there are "immediate and serious challenges to the reliability of our region's electric grid." NERC similarly cautioned in its 2024 Long-Term Reliability Assessment (LTRA) that the MISO region is at an "elevated risk" and is "facing capacity shortfalls in the next five years."    

The orders are in effect beginning on December 23, 2025, and continuing until March 23, 2026.

Background:

NERC stressed in its LTRA that "[t]he departure of MISO's coal fleet has continued with a reduction in capacity of around 6 GW in the past year, and a projected reduction of a further 12 GW over the next five years." Not preventing this planned reduction in generation would further exacerbate the current energy crisis.

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