Scoop: DOE calls coal plant operators in bid to help industry
Illustration: Sarah Grillo / Axios
The Energy Department is questioning power companies about their plans to close coal plants as it weighs emergency authority to keep them running, sources familiar with the calls told Axios.
Why it matters: The phone calls amplify the Trump administration's push to aid the coal industry following executive orders that President Trump signed in April.
- The DOE invoked emergency authority Friday to keep a Michigan coal plant running through the summer. It was slated to shut down at the end of this week.
Driving the news: The department is likely focused on plants that are scheduled to shut down in the next five years, said Michelle Bloodworth, CEO of America's Power, a coal trade association.
- "They want to gather as much information so they know what the challenges may be in keeping that plant open, or whether there is adequate capacity that's being built" to replace it, Bloodworth told Axios.
- The North American Electric Reliability Corp. has also had meetings with the White House and DOE to discuss how it conducts reliability assessments and any "holes" in that analysis, she said.
DOE and NERC didn't respond to several requests for comment.
The big picture: The White House is seeking to reverse a long-term trend: Coal has dropped to just 16% of U.S. electricity supply as cheaper natural gas and renewables have grown.
- "I fully anticipate the April 8 EO is going to be used to try to extend the lives of the coal plants even if they are uneconomic," Richard Glick, a former Democratic FERC chairman, told Axios.
Zoom in: Bloodworth said her group is arguing that plants that convert from coal to gas create grid-reliability risks because of gas supply disruptions that have happened during recent winter storms.
- At least one power company seeking to convert from coal to natural gas is putting those plans on hold to avoid drawing the administration's ire, according to another industry source who requested anonymity.
Between the lines: The executive orders — and Trump's national energy emergency — raise the prospect of the DOE using its emergency authority under the Federal Power Act to keep more plants running and reimburse them for costs.
- The agency has used that authority to require plants to run for a few days during short-term extreme weather events.
- The DOE has also designated coal — and, as of last week, coal used in steelmaking — to be a "critical" mineral, a label that puts it on par with minerals needed for defense and national security industries.
- "They understand there is a sense of urgency, given that once these coal plants are retired, it's very hard to bring them back online," Bloodworth said.
The other side: Environmental groups and power grid analysts have argued that the Federal Power Act cannot be used to keep open uneconomic and polluting coal plants.
- The DOE order Friday to keep the J.H. Campbell plant running through at least Aug. 21 is an "illegal abuse," said Sierra Club senior attorney Greg Wannier.
- "Coal is expensive, outdated, and deadly, and all of the relevant parties …concluded years ago that J.H. Campbell could retire without causing any grid reliability problems," Wannier said.
Flashback: During Trump's first term, the DOE pressed FERC to issue a rulemaking propping up coal and nuclear plants.
- The commission unanimously rejected that directive after bipartisan backlash from former commissioners, grid operators and free-market supporters.
Our thought bubble: This time around, the DOE, not FERC, appears poised to do much of the analysis to support coal.
