Wisconsin utility rate payers could be spared up to $117 million after a federal appeals court Friday unanimously overturned a U.S. Energy Department order extending the life of a Michigan coal plant, according to a report by Wisconsin Watch.
The ruling means Wisconsin ratepayers will no longer pay to keep the 60-year-old J.H. Campbell coal plant in western Michigan running past its retirement date.
In 2025, Consumers Energy, the plant’s operator, had lobbied the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for permission to bill ratepayers across the Midwest for the plant’s operating costs.
Last spring, the Energy Department intervened to block the plant’s scheduled retirement, saying the closure could result in an electricity shortfall.
Wisconsin’s Citizens Utility Board joined ratepayer advocacy groups in support of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s lawsuit to block the extension.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has urged Energy Secretary Chris Wright to close the plant, arguing that Wisconsin ratepayers could spend millions on the facility over the next few years.
