For a third time, the Trump administration has ordered the TransAlta coal-burning power plant in Centralia, Washington, to stay open.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued the first 90-day emergency order in December, forcing the TransAlta coal plant to stay open past its long-planned retirement at the end of 2025.
FILE — TransAlta's Centralia power plant emits steam and carbon dioxide on March 6, 2024.
Courtesy Jeremy Long of WITF / KUOW
Each of the three federal orders claims there is an emergency need for more electricity.
U.S. electricity demand hit record levels in 2025, with more growth expected in 2026 as the use of electric vehicles and energy-intensive artificial intelligence spreads.
“An emergency exists within the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC)–Northwest assessment area due to a shortage of electric energy, a shortage of facilities for the generation of electric energy, and other causes. Issuance of this Order will meet the emergency,” the June 12 declaration states, in nearly identical language to the Dec. 16 declaration.
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“As a coal-fired facility, it likely would be difficult for the Centralia plant to resume operations once it has been retired,” both declarations state.
Despite the orders, grid data from the Energy Information Administration shows the Centralia plant has produced zero power since December.
“There’s no emergency,” attorney Kelly Wood with the Washington Attorney General’s Office told KUOW in January. “The authority that they’re drawing upon here is reserved for times of war and times of actual, imminent emergency situations. So think of things like hurricanes, earthquakes.”
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Washington Attorney General Nick Brown has sued to stop the first two emergency orders and plans to sue to stop the most recent order, according to spokesperson Mike Faulk.
Plant owner, Calgary-based TransAlta, filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in April to charge ratepayers $20 million to cover the cost of keeping the plant ready to run during the first 90-day order. The company estimated it would have to perform $23 million in repairs if the Department of Energy keeps ordering it to remain operational.
The Trump administration has forced aging coal plants in four states to stay open with repeated 90-day emergency orders.
“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, coal plants across the country are being saved from premature retirement,” a Department of Energy press release states.
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“These coal mandates are increasingly being exposed for what they are: wasteful charades that leave families and businesses holding the bag,” Ted Kelly with the Environmental Defense Fund said in a press release.
Before the Centralia plant shut down, it was Washington’s largest source of climate-harming carbon dioxide, as well as health-damaging pollutants including particulates, sulfur dioxide, and mercury.
John Ryan is a reporter with the KUOW newsroom. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.
