December 26, 2025 - The Trump administration on Wednesday issued emergency orders to keep two set-to-be-shuttered coal plants in Indiana running through the end of the year, providing a lifeline to a favored industry while arguing it would ensure people with secure and affordable electricity.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced the orders directing the Northern Indiana Public Service Company and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator to take steps to ensure the F.B. Culley and R.M. Schahfer generating stations in Indiana are available to operate.

“The Trump Administration remains committed to swiftly deploying all available tools and authorities to safeguard the reliability, affordability, and security of the nation’s energy system,” Wright said in a release.

“Keeping these coal plants online has the potential to save lives and is just common sense. Americans deserve reliable power regardless of whether the wind is blowing or the sun is shining during extreme winter conditions.”

The two orders are effective until March 23.

Plants covered by Wright’s orders were set to close down by the end of the year.

President Trump has long favored coal as a source of energy. In the first year of his second term in office, he has taken a number of steps to help coal companies while he has separately sought to limit new production of cleaner kinds of renewable energies, such as wind and solar power.

On Wednesday, while taking calls from children as part of the North American Aerospace Defense Command Santa Tracker hotline, Trump briefly joked about coal when one child said they did not wish to get coal from Santa.

“Not coal, no you don’t want coal — you mean clean, beautiful coal. I had to do that, I’m sorry,” Trump said with a laugh.

“No, coal is clean and beautiful. Please remember that at all costs,” he added. “But you don’t want clean, beautiful coal, right? What would you like?”

The New York Times reported that retiring the coal-powered unit at the Cully station, located in Warrick County, Ind., was estimated to save its customers $80 million on their electric bills over the next 20 years.

The Times also reported that Northern Indiana Public Service Company had intended to close the two final coal-burning units at the Schahfer Generating Station in Wheatfield saved by Wright’s order, so that it could pursue more natural gas, wind and solar power, in addition to battery storage.

While seeking to stop any closures of coal plants on Trump’s watch, the administration has taken several steps to curb the growth of wind power.

Earlier this week, citing “national security concerns,” it suspended the authority of five offshore wind farms to keep building in federal waters.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a post on the social platform X that five leases, all on the East Coast, were being paused.

“Due to national security concerns identified by @DeptofWar, @Interior is PAUSING leases for 5 expensive, unreliable, heavily subsidized offshore wind farms!” Burgum wrote.

“ONE natural gas pipeline supplies as much energy as these 5 projects COMBINED. @POTUS is bringing common sense back to energy policy & putting security FIRST!” he added.

A press release from the Interior Department particularly cited potential radar interference known as “clutter” from wind turbines. The department said that blade movement “obscures legitimate moving targets and generates false targets in the vicinity of the wind projects.”

The five offshore wind projects whose leases were halted are: Vineyard Wind 1, Revolution Wind, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind. The projects are located near New England, Virginia and New York.

Together, these projects would be expected to generate enough electricity to power up to about 2.5 million homes, according to their project websites.