MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today slammed the Trump Administration for forcing coal plants to stay online, which will raise energy costs for Wisconsinites and impede the state’s ongoing clean energy efforts. A recent analysis outlined in the governor’s letter shows that the Trump Administration’s decision to force several coal plants to stay online will cost Americans between $3.1 billion and $5.9 billion over the next few years, including an estimated $117 million in increased costs to ratepayers in Wisconsin alone. The Trump Administration’s orders to keep these coal power plants open beyond their useful life are causing utility costs to go up, the costs will be shouldered by working families who are already struggling with rising costs caused by President Donald J. Trump’s and Republicans’ reckless decisions in Washington.

This is the second letter Gov. Evers has sent to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) following the governor’s previous letter in April this year. The governor’s letter today to U.S. DOE Secretary Chris Wright urges Secretary Wright to discontinue the U.S. DOE recent practice of unjustifiably invoking Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act to revive or extend the life of old, expensive coal power plants, including the J.H. Campbell Power Plant in Michigan and the R.M. Schahfer and F.B. Culley generating stations in Indiana. The three coal power plants run on the same regional electric grid that Wisconsin is part of, spreading the increasing costs across states in the region. As the Trump Administration forces the extension of these coal power plants, Wisconsin ratepayers will be forced to pay the price, Gov. Evers explained.

“Mr. Secretary, let me be clear: There is no such thing as ‘clean coal,’ and your continued use of 202(c) orders is harming Wisconsinites,” Gov. Evers wrote. “Instead of forcing old, expensive coal power plants to stay online past their scheduled retirement dates, U.S. DOE should be working to lower energy costs for Americans, […] Here in Wisconsin, we will follow the science and accelerate our progress towards a clean energy economy by continuing to implement our state’s first-ever Clean Energy Plan, creating good-paying jobs, bolstering our economy, saving households money, and improving our air and water quality. The last thing we need is President Trump and the Trump Administration making our work even harder.”

Prior to the Trump Administration’s ongoing efforts to revive coal plants throughout the nation, these coal power plants had gone through extensive business analysis and energy reliability planning, which concluded the plants were no longer economically viable and their closures would have no impact on the electricity supply and grid. All three coal power plants were scheduled to retire due to the plants reaching the end of their useful lives, until the U.S.DOE issued the abrupt orders forcing them to remain open, resulting in dramatically increased costs to operate. In fact, the owner of the F.B. Culley generating station described this power plant as “an inefficient and increasingly unreliable asset” in a letter asking the U.S. DOE to stop forcing them to keep this plant online. Since the initial extension orders, the U.S.DOE has ordered multiple extensions for the coal power plants, racking up additional costs to utility ratepayers.

Gov. Evers has consistently advanced a clean energy economy in Wisconsin and focused on reducing out-of-pocket costs for families. In his first year in office, Gov. Evers joined the U.S. Climate Alliance, of which he is now the first Midwest governor to serve as an executive board member. The governor, along with his fellow U.S. Climate Alliance governors, is committed to collectively achieving the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement to combat climate change and has established an ambitious goal of ensuring 100 percent carbon-free electricity consumption in Wisconsin by 2050.

In addition to joining the Alliance in 2019, in his first year in office, Gov. Evers signed Executive Order #38 to create the OSCE, charging the office with developing the Wisconsin Clean Energy Plan to promote the development and use of clean and renewable energy across the state, advance innovative sustainability solutions that improve the state’s economy and environment, and diversify the resources used to meet the state’s energy needs. In accordance with Gov. Evers’ Executive Order #38, the state’s first-ever Clean Energy Plan was released in 2022, providing a roadmap for the state to lower energy bills and prices at the pump for Wisconsin families, promote energy independence by reducing reliance on out-of-state energy sources, create an estimated more than 40,000 jobs by 2030, and invest in job training and apprenticeship programs in innovative industries and technologies. Since creating Wisconsin’s Clean Energy Plan four years ago, OSCE has released annual clean energy progress reports to outline the strides the state is making to meet its clean energy goals.

Additionally, in his most recent state budget, Gov. Evers successfully eliminated the sales tax on household utility bills, which is expected to save Wisconsin households $178 million over the biennium. The Evers Administration has also led the nation in the rollout of the state’s Home Energy Rebate programs, which assist homeowners in making energy efficiency and electrification upgrades to lower energy bills. Since launching the programs in 2024, $12 million in rebates have been paid to Wisconsin households to install popular energy-efficient measures, including air sealing, insulation, heat pumps for cooling and heating, and electric panels and wiring. Gov. Evers has also proposed increasing funding to Focus on Energy, the state’s energy efficiency program, to further help Wisconsin homeowners reduce their energy use and lower energy bills.   

A copy of the governor’s letter to U.S. DOE Secretary Chris Wright is attached. A transcript of the governor’s letter to DOE Secretary Wright is below:

Dear Secretary Wright:

I write to once again urge you to end the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) recent practice of unjustifiably invoking Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act to revive or extend the life of outdated, expensive coal power plants. Not only are you making energy bills go up for Wisconsinites with no demonstrated need or benefit, but this practice flies in the face of state, local, and utility planning efforts. Rather than needlessly increasing energy bills for American families, U.S. DOE should follow Wisconsin’s lead by refocusing its efforts on accelerating our nation’s transition to a clean energy economy and lowering costs for working families.

In my letter to you, dated April 22, I outlined the negative impacts of your actions forcing the J.H. Campbell Power Plant in Michigan and the R.M. Schahfer and F.B. Culley power generating stations in Indiana to continue operations past their scheduled useful lives. Despite my outreach, you have since chosen to renew the Section 202(c) orders on these plants; the Campbell plant’s order was renewed for a fifth time on May 19 and is in effect until Aug. 16, 2026, and the Schahfer and Culley plants’ orders were renewed for a third time on June 19 and are in effect until Sept. 19, 2026. This means Wisconsinites will continue to foot the bill to keep these regional plants online despite their age, inefficacy, and, in some cases, their own operating utilities’ plea to allow these expired assets to be shut down. A recent analysis shows that if U.S. DOE continues to issue these 202(c) orders in this way, it could cost American families between $3.1 billion and $5.9 billion over the next few years, including an estimated $117 million in increased costs to ratepayers here in Wisconsin alone.

Mr. Secretary, let me be clear: There is no such thing as “clean coal,” and your continued use of 202(c) orders is harming Wisconsinites. I ask that you allow these current 202(c) orders to expire and refrain from issuing any new 202(c) orders, especially in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) footprint. Wisconsinites should not and cannot continue to pay for the Trump Administration’s reckless decisions.

Instead of forcing old, expensive coal power plants to stay online past their scheduled retirement dates, U.S. DOE should be working to lower energy costs for Americans, including investing in and supporting new clean energy production, which is by far the cheapest new energy generation available today. This also includes bolstering energy efficiency and electrification, instead of weakening these efforts through program guideline changes to the successful Home Energy Rebates programs as U.S. DOE has recently done. My administration has been a national leader in the rollout and implementation of the Home Energy Rebate programs: Wisconsin was the first state in the nation to launch the energy efficiency-focused HOMES rebate program in August 2024 and one of the first states in the nation to launch both the HOMES and the electrification-focused HEAR rebate program in December 2024. To date, over $12 million of these funds have gone out to Wisconsin families across the state, helping them save money on their energy bills and make their homes more energy efficient. Unfortunately, much like the 202(c) orders, this is another example of U.S. DOE continuing to needlessly interfere with and obstruct state-led progress.

Here in Wisconsin, we will follow the science and accelerate our progress towards a clean energy economy by continuing to implement our state’s first-ever Clean Energy Plan, creating good-paying jobs, bolstering our economy, saving households money, and improving our air and water quality. The last thing we need is President Trump and the Trump Administration making our work even harder. I once again urge you to do the right thing by letting these orders expire so we can keep our kids, families, and communities healthy and safe, help working families save on utility bills, and ensure Wisconsin’s continued economic success.

In service,

Tony Evers Governor