USA Energy Secretary Issues Emergency Order

A release posted on the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) website recently announced that U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright had issued an emergency order “to minimize the risk of blackouts and address critical grid security issues in the Midwestern region of the United States ahead of the high electricity demand expected this summer”.

The release stated that Wright’s order directs the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), in coordination with Consumers Energy, to ensure that the 1,560 megawatt (MW) J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant in West Olive, Michigan, remains available for operation. The Campbell Plant was scheduled to shut down on May 31, which is 15 years before the end of its scheduled design life, the release noted.

The DOE release went on to state that the emergency order, which is issued by the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER), is authorized by Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act and is in accordance with President Trump’s Executive Order: Declaring a National Energy Emergency.

“[This] emergency order ensures that Michiganders and the greater Midwest region do not lose critical power generation capability as summer begins and electricity demand regularly reach high levels,” Wright said in the release. 

In a statement posted on its website, the Sierra Club, which describes itself as America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, criticized the move.

“Michigan’s decision to close Campbell came after years of rigorous analysis by local experts and regulators and extensive public input,” Sierra Club Michigan Campaign Organizer Bryan Smigielski said in the statement. 

When asked for comment on the DOE release, a MISO spokesperson told Rigzone that MISO “will coordinate with Consumers Energy to support compliance with the federal order as we prepare to maintain grid reliability throughout the summer season”.

Rigzone contacted Consumers Energy for comment on the DOE release. At the time of writing, Consumers Energy has not responded to Rigzone.

In its 2025 Summer Reliability Assessment, which was released last month, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) warned that “MISO is at elevated risk of operating reserve shortfalls during periods of high demand or low resource output”.

Rigzone also contacted MISO for comment on NERC’s assessment. In response, a MISO spokesperson told Rigzone, “the NERC assessment aligns with MISO’s summer assessment and capacity auction results which showed adequate resources are available to meet summer demand but operational risks remain due to the tightening supply-demand balance”.

The DOE website states that, “under Federal Power Act (FPA) section 202(c), during the continuance of a war in which the United States is engaged or when an emergency exists by reason of a sudden increase in the demand for electric energy, or a shortage of electric energy, or of facilities for the generation or transmission of electric energy, or of the fuel or water for generating facilities, or other causes, the Secretary of Energy may require by order temporary connections of facilities, and generation, delivery, interchange, or transmission of electricity as the Secretary determines will best meet the emergency and serve the public interest”.

Donald J. Trump issued a raft of energy orders during his first day as the 47th President of the United States.

Under one executive order, which was posted on the White House website, Trump declared a national emergency, noting that the United States’ “insufficient energy production, transportation, refining, and generation constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat”.

“The heads of executive departments and agencies shall identify and exercise any lawful emergency authorities available to them, as well as all other lawful authorities they may possess, to facilitate the identification, leasing, siting, production, transportation, refining, and generation of domestic energy resources, including, but not limited to, on federal lands,” Trump stated in the order.

That executive order also included several directives under a banner of “expediting the delivery of energy infrastructure”, as well as directives surrounding “emergency regulations and nationwide permits under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and other statutes administered by the Army Corps of Engineers” and “coordinated infrastructure assistance”.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com