U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright announced on Mar. 30 that the Trump administration has issued an emergency order to keep Unit 1 at the Craig Station coal plant in Colorado operational beyond its planned shutdown date. The directive instructs Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Platte River Power Authority, Salt River Project, PacifiCorp, and Public Service Company of Colorado (Xcel Energy), along with the Western Area Power Administration Rocky Mountain Region and Southwest Power Pool, to ensure continued operation of the facility.
The decision is aimed at maintaining affordable, reliable, and secure electricity supply for Americans as energy demand persists. According to Wright, “The last administration’s energy subtraction policies threatened America’s energy security and positioned our nation to likely experience significantly more blackouts in the coming years—thankfully, President Trump won’t let that happen.” He also said, “Americans deserve access to affordable, reliable, and secure energy to power their homes all the time, regardless of whether the wind is blowing or the sun is shining.”
The order follows a previous emergency directive from Dec. 30 requiring Unit 1’s availability into 2026 despite initial plans for closure at the end of 2025. The Department of Energy noted that more than 17 gigawatts of coal-power generation were preserved nationwide in 2025 due to policy changes under President Trump.
Beginning April 1—when Tri-State and WAPA Rocky Mountain Region join SPP RTO West expansion—the Southwest Power Pool will use economic dispatch methods intended to minimize costs for ratepayers.
According to DOE’s Resource Adequacy Report as reported by the Department of Energy, blackouts could increase substantially if reliable power sources are removed from service as occurred during prior administrations. Additionally, NERC’s recent assessment warned that a shift toward weather-dependent resources increases risks during winter months.
Other recent federal initiatives have focused on clean energy transition efforts: On July 21, 2022 the Department of Energy announced $225 million for implementing new building energy codes funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law; U.S. Secretary Jennifer Granholm called on international partners to advance clean energy; technology development was highlighted as critical in environmental cleanup missions before Congress according to DOE officials; passive processes using crushed marble are being applied at former coal plants for groundwater remediation by DOE’s Environmental Management Office; $96 million was allocated toward decarbonizing transportation through electric vehicle infrastructure as reported by DOE; and over one hundred programs were launched supporting disadvantaged communities under Justice40 Initiative according to a July announcement from DOE.
The emergency order keeping Craig Station Unit One available runs from March 31 through June 28.
