Christine Ho, christine.ho@sierraclub.org
Eddystone, PA - The Trump administration extended its emergency order to force the Eddystone power plant to stay online past its scheduled retirement date. The initial 90-day order was issued in May. This is the second power plant the administration has ordered to operate past its planned retirement under the excuse of a so-called “energy emergency”. The first plant, J.H. Campbell in Michigan, cost $29 million to run in the first five weeks of its extension.
The Regional Transmission Organization PJM approved Eddystone’s Unit 3 and 4 retirement in February of 2024, confirming that its retirement will not affect reliability. PJM has also secured more generation capability for the rest of 2025 than it determined was needed to ensure grid reliability, through its Base Residual Auction. Contradicting the results of its own grid security mechanisms, PJM voiced its support for this emergency order. PJM has already gone to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to file for cost recovery of the plant’s 90-day operational costs and been granted the right to stick ratepayers across the PJM footprint with the bill, per the August 15th FERC docket.
The two units, which rely on a combination of oil- and gas fuel inputs, were estimated to cost in the ballpark of $17.4 million per quarter to keep operational past the planned retirement date, according to independent analysis from Grid Strategies. The Sierra Club and partner groups filed a rehearing request for this emergency order in June. The Department of Energy has failed to issue a response.
In response, Sierra Club Senior Advisor Jessi Eidbo issued the following response:
“The Trump administration is forcing another expensive fossil fuel plant that had been ready to retire to continue operating longer than it has to and making community members across the Mid-Atlantic foot the bill. The ‘energy emergency’ the administration loves to fearmonger Americans with is an unsubstantiated, delusional myth—used by Donald Trump and the fossil fuel industry. The reality is that hardworking families in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, are already living paycheck to paycheck and making difficult decisions at the kitchen table. Communities cannot afford to pay for another expensive and unnecessary fossil fuel handout.
“If Donald Trump cared one bit about actually lowering prices for families in Pennsylvania and across the country, he would stop needlessly extending the operation of costly power plants and allow affordable, reliable, renewable energy solutions to be built.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.