Two US electric co-ops, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and Platte River Power Authority, have filed a petition challenging government orders to keep a coal plant open.
The Colorado co-ops want the Department of Energy (DOE) to reconsider the order it made in December, telling them to keep Craig Generating Station’s Unit 1, their jointly owned coal plant, running for the next 90 days.
They say they are concerned that their member and owner communities “will unnecessarily bear the full cost” of compliance with the federal emergency order and have requested a hearing.
On 30 December Tri-State, Platte River and three other electric utilities that co-own the power plant received an emergency order from the DOE, under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, identifying an energy emergency in the Western Electricity Coordinating Council Northwest area.
The order directed Tri-State, in coordination with the other co-owners, to keep Craig Unit 1 available to operate for the next 90 days.
“We support the U.S. Department of Energy’s efforts to ensure the western United States maintains a reliable supply of electricity to meet growing demand and emergencies,” said Tai-State CEO Duane Highley, “and we do not take this request for a rehearing lightly, but as not-for-profit entities, we face issues that other utilities do not, because it is our members that ultimately are going to pay for the cost of this order.”
Tri-State has been working to move away from fossils since 2019 after some of its member co-ops pulled out of their contracts because they wanted to use renewables.
Jason Frisbie, general manager and CEO of Platte River, added: “We join Tri-State in this request for a rehearing on the emergency order for Craig Unit 1. We have planned for the retirement of this resource for over a decade and have proactively replaced the capacity and energy from new sources.
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“While Platte River will continue to comply with federal law, we disagree with the need to keep the plant open.”
Tri-State and Platte River say that, as not-for-profits owned by the members and communities they serve, their owners are the ratepayers who would shoulder 100% of the burden of any unrecovered costs, “even though Craig Unit 1 is not necessary for ensuring reliability on either of the utility services providers’ systems”.
They say they “bear responsibility to control costs on behalf of their members and ratepayers”, and their request for rehearing argues that the DOE issued its order without adequate consideration of its costs, including failing to ensure compensation for the costs of compliance.
The co-ops have also asked the DOE to work with them to identify a more efficient method of meeting DOE policy concerns, which will avoid unnecessary cost on their members and ratepayers.
Since 2016, Unit 1 has been scheduled for retirement by 31 Dec 2025, for economic reasons and to comply with numerous state and federal requirements, says Tri-State.
“This retirement decision has informed operational and maintenance decisions, and Tri-State has planned for adequate resources to maintain reliability on its system following the unit’s retirement.”
Unit 1 went into an outage on Dec. 19, 2025, due to a mechanical failure of a valve. Tri-State and the other co-owners took the necessary steps to repair the valve in a timely manner and as noted, the unit was available to operate by Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026.
The co-ops adds that keeping the plant open “will likely require additional investments in operations, repairs, maintenance and, potentially, fuel supply, all factors increasing costs.”
The issue of coal is hotly contested in the US, with NRECA, the apex for US electric co-ops, backing moves by the Trump administration to boost coal generation. Environmental groups have opposed the plans but NRECA says they are necessary to ensure reliability at a time of growing electricity demand.
Image: Platte River Power Authority
