Wisconsinites are already paying more at the grocery store and at the pump. And now, our electricity bills are about to get higher because the Trump Administration is forcing a Michigan coal power plant to needlessly stay open.
The J.H. Campbell coal power plant was mandated to remain open just days before its doors were to be shuttered forever. This order came despite the utility and owner, Michigan state regulators, and the Midwest grid operator (MISO) determined that this expensive and dirty plant is not needed to maintain a reliable grid and keep the lights on.
For the first five weeks, the cost to keep this Michigan coal power plant open was a whopping $29 million – almost $1 million per day. Federal regulators have decided that the cost will be paid by all residents and businesses in MISO’s northern states, including Wisconsin.
The federal government has already extended their order once, and we expect perpetual extensions until the Department of Energy creates an almost certainly unlawful rule to keep all retiring coal power plants online. The Trump Administration is using emergency wartime powers they claim are valid because of a purported energy emergency. Trump declared this “energy emergency” in one of the hundreds of Executive Orders claiming unprecedented presidential power.
Burning coal is the dirtiest way to produce energy – the greenhouse gas emissions contribute to climate change and the harmful air pollutants cause cardiovascular and respiratory health issues. Since climate change is global and air pollution doesn’t stop at state borders, coal is bad for communities both near and far.
Coal power plants are primarily closing because they are expensive and uneconomical – they are losing money and operating at a financial loss. Solar and wind, even without federal subsidies, remain the cheapest electricity sources to build. The Trump administration is trying to choose the winners and the losers in the energy space, instead of letting markets and state regulators determine the outcome. They are giving the last lifeline to the coal industry while trying to kill homegrown solar and wind. Trump is choosing coal barons over everyday Wisconsinites struggling to pay their energy bills. Wisconsinites should not pay for the costs of a nonexistent ‘emergency’ with our health and our electric bills.
There is no energy emergency – yet. Our energy systems are changing, fossil power plants are retiring, and electricity demand is rising. But this made-up energy emergency could become real with the consistent attacks against cheap, reliable, renewable energy. Adding more wind and solar generation is the fastest and best solution to these new energy challenges.
