The owners of a coal-burning power plant in Craig say a recent federal order forcing them to keep one of their units open could raise costs on ratepayers, and asked the U.S. Department of Energy to reconsider its decision. 

Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and the Platte River Power Authority, which co-own Craig Station Unit 1 in Moffat County, filed a petition with the Energy Department on Thursday in a bid to reverse an emergency order issued last month that forced the plant to stay in operation one day before it was scheduled to close. 

The Dec. 30 order was issued by Energy Secretary Chris Wright under section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, which allows the Energy Department to keep power plants running during times of crisis, such as war or energy shortages. 

In a press release on Thursday, the plant’s owners warned that staying open will mean ratepayers will “unnecessarily bear the full cost of complying.”

“We support the U.S. Department of Energy’s efforts to ensure the western United States maintains a reliable supply of electricity to meet growing demand and emergencies, and we do not take this request for a rehearing lightly,” said Tri-State CEO Duane Highley., “but as not-for-profit entities, we face issues that other utilities do not, because it is our members that ultimately are going to pay for the cost of this order.”

Jason Frisbie, general manager and CEO of Platte River, said the plant’s owners have planned for its closure for over a decade and have “proactively replaced the capacity and energy from new sources.

“While Platte River will continue to comply with federal law, we disagree with the need to keep the plant open,” Frisbie said. 

The Energy Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. 

Tri-State had planned to close the more than 40-year-old plant by the end of 2025 as part of its move to more environmentally friendly energy sources. It plans to close Craig Station’s two other coal-burning plants by 2028. 

The decision is partly driven by a state law that requires large-scale utility providers to reach 100% renewable electrical energy by 2050. Tri-State says the plant has also become too expensive to run.

The plant had been closed even before the Dec. 30 order due to a mechanical valve failure, and Tri-State previously said that reopening the plant likely will “require additional investments in operations, repairs, maintenance and, potentially, fuel supply, all factors increasing costs.”

Wright, in his Dec. 30 emergency order, said Colorado and other Western states face an energy “emergency” due to a “shortage of electric energy, a shortage of facilities for the generation of electric energy, and other causes.” 

The closure of coal-burning plants “could lead to the loss of power to homes,” Wright’s order states, as well as “businesses in the areas that may be affected by curtailments or power outages, presenting a risk to public health and safety.”

The Trump administration has used similar justifications to keep open coal plants in Michigan and Washington, as well as an oil plant in Pennsylvania. 

The petition by Tri-State and the Platte River Power Authority comes on the heels of separate challenges launched by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and a coalition of environmental groups that are also seeking to reverse the Energy Department’s order. 

Both Weiser and environmental advocates claim in petitions filed on Wednesday that the Energy Department provided no evidence of an energy emergency and that their authority under section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act was misused. 

The Energy Department has 30 days to respond to the petitions.