Energy Dept. orders two Indiana coal plants to stay open; EPA delays coal-ash rule

The Energy Department ordered two coal-burning power plants in Indiana to continue operating through March 23, 2026, and the Environmental Protection Agency finalized a regulation giving utilities an additional five years to meet wastewater standards for coal-ash sites, the administration announced on Tuesday.

The orders affect an aging unit at the F.B. Culley Generating Station in Warrick County, operated by CenterPoint Energy, and two remaining coal-burning units at the Schahfer Generating Station in Wheatfield, owned by Northern Indiana Public Service Company. The utilities had planned to retire the units by Dec.

31; CenterPoint had said retiring the Culley unit and one other would save customers $80 million over 20 years. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the closures would leave the region short of power this winter and that keeping the plants online "has the potential to save lives and is just common sense," a claim described in the report as disputed by some energy experts.

The moves were part of a broader push by the administration to bolster the coal industry, including opening more federal lands to mining, reducing royalty rates, offering $625 million in grants to upgrade coal plants and loosening emissions limits. The article notes that coal produced about 16 percent of U.S.

Key Topics

Politics, Energy Department, Environmental Protection Agency, F.b. Culley, Schahfer Generating Station, Centerpoint Energy