Attorney General Phil Weiser files lawsuit to overturn federal order to keep Craig coal power plant open

Attorney General Phil Weiser files lawsuit to overturn federal order to keep Craig coal power plant open

March 18, 2026 (DENVER) - Attorney General Phil Weiser today filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to overturn an illegal emergency order issued by the U.S. Department of Energy requiring the coal-fired Craig Unit 1 in Moffat County to be available until March 30.

"The long-anticipated retirement of Craig Unit 1 and replacing it with cleaner and more affordable energy resources was the result of a carefully planned process that was driven by economics. There is no energy emergency, and stopping the Craig unit's retirement would not ease any imagined energy need," Attorney General Weiser said. "Left unchallenged, the Energy Department's order will result in unnecessary costs passed onto Coloradans in higher electric bills and more pollution in the region. The order is an unlawful abuse of the department's emergency authority and should be rescinded."

The Energy Department issued the order on December 30, 2025, using its emergency authority under a provision in the Federal Power Act, to prevent the scheduled retirement of Craig Unit 1. The order requires that the old coal-fired unit continue to be available for 90 days beyond its long-planned December 31, 2025 retirement date. The Energy Department has been regularly renewing orders issued to other coal plants across the country every 90 days.

On January 28, Attorney General Weiser filed what's known as a request for rehearing urging the Energy Department to act at the agency level rescinding the order because it tramples on the state's authority to design and manage power generation resources in Colorado. Moreover, the attorney general explained that there is no emergency justifying the order keeping the coal plant open and that such federal orders are permitted only in true emergencies and only with specific procedures that the department did not follow when it issued the order. Two of the owners of the Craig coal power plant also petitioned the federal government to let the unit close as planned.

The petition for review filed today in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals (PDF) follows the Energy Department's denial of the state's rehearing request. The D.C. Circuit is currently hearing other challenges to similar emergency orders issued in other states. Under federal law, a state can proceed with litigation in federal court if the department denies a rehearing request or does not respond to a request after 30 days have passed from the date the petition was filed.

The state is asking the court to hold unlawful, vacate, and set aside the Craig 1 order, and grant any other proper relief.

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