Groups Challenge Department of Energy’s Illegal Orlando Area Coal Plant Extension

Groups Challenge Department of Energy's Illegal Orlando Area Coal Plant Extension

The costs of running the coal plant, over $6 million per month, will likely be passed onto Central Florida families and businesses

Contacts

Kathryn McGrath, [email protected]

Chandler Green, [email protected]

Public interest organizations are challenging the Department of Energy's illegal emergency order extending the life of the 39-year-old Stanton coal plant in Orlando. The groups include Environmental Defense Fund, Sierra Club and Earthjustice, representing Florida Rising.

The request for rehearing was filed in response to DOE's June 4 order, which prevented the planned retirement of Unit 1 at the end of May 2026. DOE's order forces the plant to remain available to operate for 90 days and may be renewed, as the administration has repeatedly done with five other unlawful coal plant orders.

Orlando Utilities Commission's financial reports reveal that coal has been its highest cost fuel per megawatt hour in recent years, costing more than natural gas and the cost of purchasing solar power. Stanton Unit 1 costs an estimated $6.2 million each month to run. According to EDF analysis, propping up this coal plant could add over $20 to monthly electricity bills, if the costs of keeping the plant open are assigned solely to OUC customers. In addition to ratepayer impacts, the plant has heavy health impacts, causing an estimated 45 premature deaths annually from toxic air pollution.

OUC planned to replace Stanton 1 with natural gas and solar resources. While the Department of Energy claims that keeping Stanton online is necessary for grid reliability, OUC's own planning documents from last year conclude that the utility is projected to maintain adequate power capacity through at least 2034 (page 63). The North American Electric Reliability Corporation, an organization responsible for assessing grid reliability, also rates Florida's electric system as having the highest reliability rating for both Summer 2026 and long-term resource adequacy.

"Forcing this coal plant to stay open delivers a rate hike to Central Florida families and businesses, right as they are already struggling with sky-high electricity bills," said Adam Kurland, Attorney for U.S. Clean Energy at Environmental Defense Fund. "Cheaper, cleaner and more reliable options had rendered this coal plant obsolete and on track for retirement."

"There is no good reason to keep this aging coal plant in operation. OUC customers could be forced to pay higher monthly bills to burn one of the utility's most expensive fuels, despite the availability of cleaner, more affordable energy resources that can already meet our electricity needs. Our communities deserve utility decisions grounded in facts, not politics," said Brooke Alexander-Goss, Organizing Manager, Sierra Club Florida

"Florida Rising has been pushing for energy justice throughout Florida by fighting against excessive utility profits and for a just transition that puts frontline communities at the center of energy policy. We already have some of the highest electric bills in the nation due to our excess electricity generation capacity, so ordering OUC to keep this uneconomic plant online will just push OUC bills higher at a time when people are already struggling to pay their bills," said Bradley Marshall, Senior Attorney at Earthjustice which is representing Florida Rising.

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