March 25, 2026 - Two Indiana coal plants have once again dodged retirement.

The United States Department of Energy late on March 23 re-upped orders to keep two NIPSCO and CenterPoint Energy coal plants online past their scheduled shut-downs last year. The Indiana plants are among five aging coal units across the country the DOE has saved from extinction by bypassing local regulators.

Because keeping coal plants up and running can be costly and deadly, a mess of litigation has erupted in response to the DOE orders. Opponents, including the law firm Earthjustice, have filed challenges arguing that the federal government's meddling with Indiana's grids is illegal.

The DOE says increased energy demand from data centers and manufacturing have created an emergency that necessitates keeping the plants online. Opponents say that no emergency exists, arguing the plants should shutter as planned.

But as the courts slowly sort through the legal fallout, the Schahfer Generating Station in Jasper County and the Culley Generating Station in Warrick County will remain in operation until Jun. 21, 2026.

When the DOE initially issued 90-days of life-support to the Indiana coal plants in Dec. 2025, it explained that an increase in energy demand and a shortage of supply was threatening the nation's ability to support manufacturing, re-industrialization and AI data center development.

But local regulators had a different outlook. Despite the obstacles that severe winter weather, fewer 24/7 electricity generators and supply chain issues can pose to a grid, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator's planning indicated that the grid was prepared to meet demand and function reliably, McKenzie Barbknecht, a MISO spokesperson, explained in an email three months ago after the DOE issued its first order.

The DOE's recent re-ups for Indiana's coal plants also cite the regional grid's response to Winter Storm Fern, which battered much of the Midwest in late January, as a reason to maintain the plants. During the storm, Schahfer produced more than 285 megawatts of electricity for the grid each day, according to the DOE.

Interfering with a state's electric grid at the level of individual plants is largely unprecedented for the federal government. Regional operators, utility commissions and electric companies typically regulate grids and Indiana utilities began planning for the two coal plant retirements almost a decade ago.

But the utilities that operate the two plants said they will comply with federal orders.

Earthjustice and local consumer advocacy groups like the Citizens Action Coalition argue the federal orders are unnecessary, illegal and pricey. Synapse Energy Economics estimates keeping the plants running costs the utilities a total of $229,000 each day.

NIPSCO and CenterPoint Energy petitioned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to divvy up these costs across customer bills in 11 states of the surrounding MISO grid, which includes customers of utilities like AES and Duke Energy. The Schahfer plant used to just serve NIPSCO customers, but under the federal orders it is now serving customers across the region, Jessica Cantarelli told IndyStar in an email.

Similar sagas are unfolding in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Washington. The DOE has been issuing and re-issuing emergency decrees to keep coal plants online in 90-day spurts since its first decree to a Michigan plant last spring.

Indiana advocacy groups that oppose keeping the plants operational are watching as litigation unfolds up north. Oral arguments against Michigan's coal plant extension begin in May in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The outcome could create precedent for the myriad similar legal battles popping up elsewhere, Jennifer Washburn, Citizen Action Coalition's regulatory director, said.