WASHINGTON-U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright 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 these coal plants were scheduled to shut down at the end of 2025.
The orders will minimize the risk of unnecessary blackouts for the American people. Since the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) original orders were issued on December 23, 2025, the Schahfer and Culley coal plants have proven critical to MISO’s operations, operating during periods of high energy demand and low levels of intermittent energy production, including during Winter Storm Fern.
“Forcing reliable, dispatchable coal generation off the grid would compromise energy reliability and needlessly raises energy costs for Americans,” said Energy Secretary Wright. ”Midwestern families should not be forced to pay the price for the misguided energy subtraction policies of the past. They deserve affordable, reliable, and secure energy, regardless of the wind blowing or the sun shining.”
Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, coal generating plants across the country are being saved from premature retirement. For example, in 2025, more than 17 gigawatts of coal power electricity generation were saved from going offline.
The availability of R.M. Schahfer and F.B. Culley generating stations to operate will continue to be an asset to maintain reliability in the MISO region and is necessary to address elevated reliability risks in that region during extreme weather and reduce the risk of power outages that could threaten public health and safety.
As outlined in DOE’s Resource Adequacy Report , premature retirements of reliable generation resources increase the risk of power outages.
These orders are in effect beginning on September 20, 2026, through December 18, 2026.