May 30, 2026 | Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Order No. 202-26-22 (May 18, 2026); NERC 2026 Summer Reliability Assessment
DOE Emergency Order Holds Michigan Coal Plant Online as MISO Faces Elevated Summer Reserve Risk
On May 18, 2026, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright issued DOE Emergency Order No. 202-26-22 under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, directing MISO and Consumers Energy to ensure the J.H. Campbell coal-fired generating station in West Olive, Michigan remains available to operate through August 16, 2026.
The order mandates MISO apply economic dispatch to the Campbell Plant to minimize costs to ratepayers. It also requires MISO to file daily notification reports with the Department confirming whether the plant has operated — a level of federal oversight that signals just how thin the reserve margin picture has become in the MISO footprint.
Order 202-26-22 is the latest in an active pattern of DOE emergency interventions across the grid this summer. NIPSCO’s Schahfer Generating Station in Indiana (Order 202-26-19, in effect through June 21) and Tri-State’s Craig Station in Colorado (Order 202-26-21, in effect through June 28) are also under active federal orders — reflecting a broader national trend of generation retirements outpacing the pace of firm replacement capacity.
What This Means for Operators and Reliability Teams
NERC’s 2026 Summer Reliability Assessment flagged MISO as at elevated risk of operating reserve shortfalls during peak demand periods. Aggregate summer peak demand across North America is up more than 11 GW year-over-year — exceeding the 10 GW growth that preceded Summer 2025 — with data center load interconnections the primary driver.
For reliability coordinators and transmission operators in MISO, the Campbell Plant is now a federally managed backstop resource held for MISO’s dispatch discretion. The daily DOE reporting requirement creates a new data stream that operational and compliance teams should track — particularly around unit availability status and how it affects economic dispatch sequencing under tight reserve conditions.
For planners and compliance staff across all regions: the accumulation of active 202(c) orders is a real-time federal signal that several footprints are operating with tighter-than-planned reserve margins entering peak season. The NERC assessment also highlights that large load interconnection timing uncertainty — primarily driven by data centers — is introducing operational unpredictability not seen in prior summer outlooks. Standard reserve policies and operating procedures merit a fresh look against the documented elevated risk posture.
EPG Solutions Can Help
If your reliability or compliance team is managing a summer with active federal emergency orders and tighter reserve margins, EPG Solutions’ proprietary benchmark intelligence reports provide peer-utility context on how comparable systems are handling reserve margin risk, demand forecast uncertainty, and 202(c) compliance exposure. Understanding where you stand relative to your peers is the first step to staying ahead of the next directive. Visit EPG Solutions → epgsolutions.services