March 4, 2026 - The Washington State Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit Tuesday accusing the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) of failing to release public records tied to its decision to keep a Centralia coal-fired power plant operating, according to a complaint filed in federal court.

At the center of the dispute is DOE’s use of emergency authority in the Federal Power Act to block the planned retirement of the TransAlta Centralia Generation Station.

The complaint argues DOE violated the Freedom of Information Act by failing to make timely determinations and release records requested by the state.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order on April 8, 2025, directing DOE to prevent the retirement or conversion of certain power plants and retain plants it considers critical to grid reliability.

On Dec. 16, 2025, DOE declared an “emergency” in the Northwest and ordered the Centralia plant to remain operational as a coal power plant. 

The plant had been scheduled to retire at the end of December 2025.

The lawsuit states that Washington utilities and regulators had planned for more than a decade for Centralia to close by that date.

In 2011, the state and TransAlta signed an agreement exempting the plant from certain pollution controls and tax liabilities in exchange for its retirement by December 2025.

The complaint says utilities and ratepayers invested in replacement energy resources and that Puget Sound Energy contracted with TransAlta to convert the plant to natural gas.

The state argues DOE issued its emergency order without notice, hearing or other information provided to Washington or the public. 

It also alleges that no local utility, regulator or energy company requested DOE use its emergency authority to keep the plant running.

The attorney general’s office first submitted a FOIA request to DOE on Sept. 17, 2025, seeking records about the agency’s new protocol and any plans to prevent Centralia’s retirement.

Under FOIA, agencies are generally required to issue a determination within 20 business days of receiving a request.

The complaint says DOE did not make a final determination within the required time frame and did not provide an estimated completion date despite repeated requests.

On Jan. 21, 2026, the state sent four additional FOIA requests seeking similar categories of records, including communications sent to or from a DOE email address that contained key terms such as “Centralia,” “TransAlta,” “Bonneville Power Administration,” “BPA,” or “CAISO.” 

As of the date of the complaint, the state says DOE had not provided updates required by FOIA for either the September or January requests.

In the lawsuit, the attorney general’s office asks the court to declare DOE’s failure to make timely determinations unlawful, order the agency to process and release the requested records, retain jurisdiction to ensure compliance, and award costs and attorney fees.