DETROIT (AP) 鈥� Environmental groups and Michigan's attorney general filed separate challenges Wednesday against a that is keeping a coal-fired power plant open this summer.
The environmental coalition said there is no energy emergency that would justify keeping Consumers Energy鈥檚 J.H. Campbell plant alive in Ottawa County, near Lake Michigan.
The U.S. Energy Department 鈥渉as no authority to compel Consumers to rehabilitate 鈥� and effectively reconstruct 鈥� the increasingly unreliable plant, nor to override the state鈥檚 and utility鈥檚 decision to replace the plant with less expensive and cleaner sources,鈥� the 54-page petition says.
Consumers Energy had planned to close the power station by May 31 as part of a transition to cleaner energy. But the Energy Department intervened just days earlier, saying the plant must remain open, at least until late August, because of possible electricity shortfalls in the central U.S.
The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, known as MISO, manages the flow of electricity in 15 U.S. states and Manitoba in Canada. MISO has said there should be enough electricity this summer, though it cited the potential for 鈥渆levated risk鈥� during extreme weather.
鈥淭his type of order is fairly unprecedented,鈥� lawyer Shannon Fisk of Earthjustice said. 鈥淚t's a fabricated emergency.鈥�
The Energy Department defended its position. 鈥淭his administration is committed to ensuring Americans have access to reliable, affordable and secure energy that isn鈥檛 dependent on whether the sun shines or the wind blows,鈥� spokesperson Ben Dietderich said.
Consumers Energy said it is complying with the order, noting that the first coal delivery arrived before the planned May 31 decommissioning.
It is unclear whether the challenges by Attorney General Dana Nessel and environmental groups would be settled by the end of August when the order expires. Fisk said the order could be extended. A lawsuit also could be pursued.
In Pennsylvania, an oil and gas plant was as a hedge against electricity shortages in the 13-state mid-Atlantic grid. The Eddystone Generating Station is just south of Philadelphia on the Delaware River.
Ed White, The Associated Press
