Environmental groups challenge DOE order forcing Craig coal plant to stay open

Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Fund, Earthjustice, and Colorado utilities Tri-State Generation and Platte River Power Authority filed challenges on January 28, 2026 to a Department of Energy emergency order that had forced Craig Station Unit 1 to remain operational one day before its scheduled retirement on December 31, 2025. The DOE order invoked a rarely used grid reliability authority to keep the 40-year-old coal unit available for 90 days at the direction of regional grid operators. Neither Craig's co-owners nor state regulators had requested the intervention.