Trump Administration Keeps Indiana Coal Plants Open to Ensure Affordable, Reliable and Secure Power in the Midwest

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 continued access to affordable, reliable, and secure electricity.

Energy.gov

March 23, 2026

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 continued access to affordable, reliable, and secure electricity. The orders direct the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), CenterPoint Energy, and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (MISO) to take all measures necessary to ensure specified generation units at both the R.M. Schahfer and F.B. Culley generating stations in Indiana are available to operate. Certain generation units at the coal plants were scheduled to shut down at the end of 2025. The orders prioritize minimizing electricity costs for the American people and minimizing the risk and costs of blackouts.

“The last administration’s energy subtraction policies had the United States on track to likely experience significantly more blackouts in the coming years—thankfully, President Trump won’t let that happen,” said Energy Secretary Wright. “The Trump Administration will continue taking action to keep America’s coal plants running to ensure we don’t lose critical generation sources. Americans deserve access to affordable, reliable, and secure energy to power their homes all the time, regardless of whether the wind is blowing or the sun is shining.”

The reliable supply of power from these two coal plants was essential in powering the grid during recent extreme winter weather. From January 23–February 1, Schahfer operated at over 285 megawatts (MW) every day and Culley operated at approximately 30 MW almost every day. These operations serve as a reminder that allowing reliable generation to go offline would unnecessarily contribute to grid reliability risks.

Since the Department of Energy’s (DOE) original orders were issued on December 23, 2025, the coal plants have proven critical to MISO’s operations, operating during periods of high energy demand and low levels of intermittent energy production.

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. The emergency conditions that led to the issuance of the original orders persist.

MISO’s service area will continue to face emergency conditions both in the near and long term. NERC cautioned in its 2025 Long-Term Reliability Assessment that “the continuing shift in the resource mix toward weather-dependent resources and less fuel diversity increases risks of supply shortfalls during winter months.”

These orders are in effect beginning on March 24, 2026, through June 21, 2026.

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