Amicus Brief: DOE Order Michigan Coal Plant

Amicus Brief on DOE Order Affecting Michigan Coal Plant

In May, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued an order under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act requiring a coal-fired power plant in Michigan to continue operating past its scheduled retirement date. DOE claimed that the plant’s continued operation was necessary to reduce the risk of regional energy supply shortfalls over the summer. But DOE’s claim contradicts the conclusions reached by the Michigan Public Service Commission and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, the entities responsible for ensuring sufficient energy supply to meet regional demand.

In an amicus brief submitted in litigation challenging DOE’s Order, we explain that decisions about “resource adequacy,” or the amount of energy supply necessary to meet demand, belong jurisdictionally to the states, supported by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and regional grid operators. We also describe the complex, region-specific analyses that resource adequacy planning requires. Finally, we explain that DOE is not the proper entity to make decisions about resource adequacy planning, and the reasoning underlying its order does not establish that this specific plant is necessary to regional resource adequacy.

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