Trump administration orders a Colorado coal-fired power generator to stay open

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The Trump administration has told another coal-fired power facility to remain open, this time ordering the owners of a Colorado electricity generating unit to keep it running beyond its Wednesday retirement date.

Compliance will cost Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and the other owners of the Craig Station power plant in northwestern Colorado. The plant owners will need to fix a broken valve that put the power plant's 446-megawatt Unit 1 out of operation on Dec. 19, Tri-State said in a statement.

The order from Energy Secretary Chris Wright follows recent Department of Energy moves to keep coal-fired power stations open in Indiana, Washington state and Michigan despite efforts by their owners to close them.

It's part of President Donald Trump's push to revive the U.S. coal industry at a time when many utilities are shifting to cheaper, less-polluting energy sources such as natural gas and renewables. The administration, meanwhile, has blocked renewable energy, including wind power.

The 45-year-old generator in Colorado, one of three at Craig Station, had been scheduled to close at the end of 2025.

''As a not-for-profit cooperative, our membership will bear the costs of compliance with this order unless we can identify a method to share costs with those in the region,'' Tri-State CEO Duane Highley said in the statement.

The power plant's owners had been planning since 2016 to shut down Unit 1 for economic reasons and to comply with ''numerous state and federal requirements.''

The generator must remain operational to address a shortage of electricity and electrical generation in the northwestern U.S., Wright wrote in Tuesday's emergency order keeping the unit operational.

''The Trump Administration is committed to lowering energy costs and keeping American families safe,'' Wright said in a release.

Wade Gerber, who works at the power plant, said the announcement changes little for Colorado's coal country, which is undergoing a long-term shift away from the fossil fuel as a pillar of the local economy.

He sees Craig — a city of about 9,000 people — as caught in the middle of a dizzying political battle.

''What does this administration get to do? What does the next administration get to do? Is it going to make (coal) any long-term thing? No, probably not,'' Gerber said.

''I already told both my bosses, if that blows up even a little bit, I can tell you: ‘Here's my two-week notice,''' Gerber said.

Colorado officials criticized the Trump administration order as a disservice to electricity users.

''It is unacceptable to burden ratepayers with these unnecessary costs,'' Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet said in a statement.

The power plant was completed in 1980. Its No. 2 and No. 3 units have been scheduled to be retired in 2028. The plant's fuel is mined at the nearby Trapper Mine, which is also scheduled to close.

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