Trump is forcing coal plants to stay open. It could cost customers billions.

Photo: The western face of the Centralia Power Plant located east of Centralia, Washington – September 20, 2020. Photo credit: Steven Baltakatei Sandoval via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0 (photo resized to fit), Article by Alex Brown. Stateline -March 19, 2026.

In an unprecedented use of federal authority, President Donald Trump’s administration has invoked emergency powers to force a series of retiring coal plants to stay open. Utilities, states and grid operators have said the aging plants are expensive, in bad repair and no longer needed to meet regional energy needs. But Trump’s efforts to save the dwindling coal industry have forced plant operators to continue investing in the facilities — a move that some consumer advocates fear could mean billions of dollars in added costs for customers in dozens of states. […]

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